Roger Federer was more than a match for the firepower of Ivo Karlovic, beating the towering Croatian in straight sets to reach the fourth round of the Indian Wells hardcourt tennis tournament.
The Swiss world number two, seeded second in the first ATP Masters series of 2009 behind world number one Rafael Nadal, needed only 70 minutes to notch a 7-6 (7/4), 6-3 victory - his seventh over Karlovic in eight career meetings.
The Swiss, who calls Karlovic's first serve "untouchable," was nonetheless able to withstand 13 aces by the Croatian, breaking him in the seventh game of the second set to avoid another tiebreaker while never facing a break point himself.
"That's always a good thing," he said of holding serve with ease. "That kind of keeps you a bit relaxed."
Despite his dominant record over Karlovic, Federer said he was always glad to come away with a win against him.
"He's a tough opponent to play against," Federer said. "I think he's good for the lower ranked players to play against just because you'll always have a chance.
{{/usCountry}}"He's a tough opponent to play against," Federer said. "I think he's good for the lower ranked players to play against just because you'll always have a chance.
{{/usCountry}}"For the top guys, it's worse, because it just depends on a few shots.