Federer Express chugs on into Monte Carlo quarters

Roger Federer's path toward a title at the ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo was much smoother in the third round as he defeated Gael Monfils of France in straight sets 6-3 6-4.

The top seed previously had to fight back from 1-5 down in the third set of his second round match against the 137th ranked Spaniard Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo.

This time around Federer kept his unforced error count down--he produced an appalling 55 unforced errors in the second round--and sealed the 71-minute victory with an exquisite drop shot.

He now faces long-time nemesis David Nalbandian of Argentina who routed Tommy Robredo of Spain 6-0 6-1 and holds an 8-8 head-to-head record with world number one.