Roger Federer in quarter finals of Paris Masters

Switzerland's Roger Federer stretches to return a drop shot from Czech Republic's Radek Stepanek during the third round of the Paris Masters 1000 ATP tournament at the Paris Bercy Omnisports Stadium last night. Pic/AFP

The Australian Open champion, seeking his first-ever trip into the semi-finals at this Parisian event, handed the Czech veteran a 6-4, 6-3 drubbing. Federer slammed 11 aces and was not broken even once last night.

Earlier, Fernando Verdasco saw his Paris Masters challenge, along with his hopes of qualifying for the upcoming ATP Tour World Finals fade away.

The Spanish sixth seed edged a closely fought opening set in his third-round match against Gael Monfils, but the Frenchman came back to seal a 6-7 (4/7), 7-6 (7/2), 7-5 victory. Defeat for Verdasco means he cannot improve on his current ninth place in the world rankings, allowing Tomas Berdych, David Ferrer and Andy Roddick to all qualify for the season-ending event at the O2 Arena later this month.

Only the top eight players can reach the finals, which will take place between November 21 and 28. Roddick progressed to the quarter-finals in Paris with a 6-3, 7-6 (10/8) win over Latvia's Ernests Gulbis earlier in the day.

The American, who is eighth in the rankings, will be relieved to have secured his place at the World Finals after an inconsistent season.

Djokovic out
Second seed Novak Djokovic suffered a straight-sets loss at the hands of Frenchman Michael Llodra in their third-round match.

Llodra edged a tight opening set before breaking his Serbian opponent twice in the second to claim a 7-6 (8-6), 6-2 victory.

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