Federer Express dispatches Cañas

World number one Roger Federer subdued nemesis Guillermo Cañas in straight sets 6-3 6-3 to earn a spot in the third round of the ATP Masters Series in Rome.

Facing the 30th ranked Cañas for the first time on clay, Federer was clearly the better-adjusted of the two after breaking the Argentine's serve in the sixth game of the opening set. He repeated the feat in the seventh game of the second set but only after fending off a break point on his previous service game. He then went on to seal a convincing victory on his second match point after quickly going up 0-40 as Cañas served to stay in the match.

Federer put in one of his better performances on clay during the one-hour and 24-minute match. The two-time finalist at Rome fired 34 winners past the struggling Cañas, who had only ten winners, and, despite putting in just 54% of his first serves, surrendered a total of twelve points on serve.

Previously, Cañas was one of the few players on the tour with a winning record against the Swiss. With this latest victory by Federer, the two are now tied with three wins each.