Federer squeaks by in Japan Open

TOKYO, Oct. 6 (UPI) -- World No. 1 Roger Federer survived a final set tiebreaker Friday in posting a quarterfinal victory in the $765,000 Japan Open.

Japanese wild-card entrant Takao Suzuki took the first set from Switzerland's Federer 6-4 before Federer rebounded for a 7-5 win in the second set. The third set went to Federer only after he took the tiebreaker 7-3.

"It was a difficult match and I was afraid I might lose it," Federer said after the shaky win. "I got a bit of luck here and there in the third set which helped."

He moves into the tournament semifinals Saturday against 14th-seeded German Benjamin Becker, who upset No. 5 Finn Jarkko Nieminen 6-7 (5-7), 7-6 (8-6), 6-4.

In other quarterfinals Friday, ninth-seeded Korean Hyung-Taik Lee upset second- seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo 7-6 (7-3), 4-6, 6-1, and 10th-seeded Brit Tim Henman upended third-seeded Croat Mario Ancic 6-2, 6-2.

The tournament is scheduled to conclude Sunday.