• Sony Ericsson Open

Federer stumbles into round four

Roger Federer needed two tie-breakers to seal the victory © Getty Images

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• Gallery: Miami tennis: Monday

Monday gallery

Roger Federer limped through to the fourth round of the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami after beating Florent Serra 7-6(2) 7-6(3).

The world No. 1 was less than convincing as he had numerous attempts to close out the match but lacked the killer instinct.

With his rival Rafael Nadal watching in the stands, Federer broke the Frenchman's serve on three occasions, only for Serra managed to battle his way back each time.

After securing an early break in the second having won the opener on a tie-break, Federer looked to be on course for a relatively easy victory, but Serra clawed his way back to 4-4. Serving for the match at 5-4, Federer was unable to seal the victory and the Frenchman forced the second set into a tie-break.

Federer admitted he was far from his best, and was relieved to progress to the last-16 unscathed.

"Today was a bit of a scramble, with gusty winds and the player I played against today was never going to be easy," Federer told Sky Sports. "I'm very relieved to be through because it was a tough match and I hope I can step it up a bit in the next match."

Federer will now meet No. 16 seed Tomas Berdych, who saw off Horacio Zeballos 6-4 7-5.

Andy Murray's conqueror Mardy Fish continued his impressive run at his home tournament with a 7-5 6-3 victory over Spain's Feliciano Lopez. He will now face Russian Mikhail Youzhny who recovered from losing the first set to beat Stanislas Wawrinka 1-6 7-6(5) 7-5.

Marin Cilic continued his progress into the last-16 with a clinical 6-3 6-4 victory over Marcos Baghdatis.

Robin Soderling's fine run of form continued, the No. 5 seed brushing aside Philipp Petzschner 6-1 6-2, but Fernando Verdasco was given a stern examination before beating Jurgen Melzer 3-6 7-6(4) 6-1. It was a similar story for Fernando Gonzalez who recovered from losing the first set to beat Juan Monaco 6-7(4) 6-4 6-2.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.