Djokovic needs third set to win Dubai

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Feb. 23 (UPI) -- Defending champion Novak Djokovic was pushed to a third set Wednesday before advancing to the quarterfinals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Djokovic, the tournament's No. 2 seed, got past Feliciano Lopez 6-3, 2-6, 6-4 despite dropping serve three times, including once in the decisive set. He managed three breaks of his own, with two coming in the third set.

Top-seeded Roger Federer had two breaks, getting one early in each set of a 6-3, 6-4 win over Marcel Granollers. Federer faced just two break points, with both coming in the opening game of the second set.

No. 3-seeded Tomas Berdych also qualified for the quarterfinals, beating Nikolay Davydenko 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) by fighting off six of eight break-point opportunities for Davydenko. However, Sergiy Stakhovsky upset eighth-seeded Ernest Gulbis 6-3, 5-7, 6-1 behind five service breaks.

Philipp Petzschner edged Philipp Kohlschreiber 6-0, 4-6, 6-2. Petzschner won 67 percent of the points in the first and third sets.

Also Wednesday, Gilles Simon sailed by Lukas Rosol 6-2, 6-3; Richard Gasquet defeated Sergei Bubka 6-2, 7-5; and Florian Mayer advanced over Andrey Golubev 6-3, 6-4.