/world sport
MONTE CARLO, Monaco -- Roger Federer fought back from the brink of defeat against Ruben Ramirez Hidalgo of Spain to win 6-1 3-6 7-6 in his second round match at the Monte Carlo Masters on Wednesday.
Federer was made to work hard before going through to the third round in Monte Carlo.
Top seed Federer trailed 5-1 in the deciding set and twice came within two points of defeat against the 137th-ranked Hidalgo.
The 12-time grand slam champion, who came into the match off the back of his first tournament win of the year at Estoril, won five games in a row in the third set to lead force a tiebreaker which he won 7-1.
"He really pushed me," Federer told the Associated Press. "He made it hard for me. I am happy to have got through this. I lost the rhythm and I needed a bit of luck to come back into the match.
"My opponent played so bad in the first set that he sort of almost faked me out. He couldn't serve. He was making many mistakes from the baseline. And then after that I really struggled. So I was really unhappy with my game."
The Swiss star had 55 unforced errors in the match and looked shaky on his serve early, needing to save a break-point in the fifth game of the first set.
But Ramirez Hidalgo's unforced errors gave Federer a chance to serve out the set at 5-1.
He proceeded to drop the middle set and needed his fighting recovery in the third to stay alive in the important pre-French Open clay court event.
Federer will next face France's Gael Monfils, who knocked out big-serving 15th seed Ivo Karlovic of Croatia with a 7-6 (10-8) 6-1 victory on Wednesday.
In contrast to Federer, second seed and three-time defending champion Rafael Nadal crushed unseeded Croatian Mario Ancic 6-0 6-3 in the following match on center court.
The Spanish clay-court star took the first set in 22 minutes to set up a clash with compatriot and two-time former Monte Carlo champion Juan Carlos Ferrero, who beat Finland's Jarkko Nieminen 6-3 6-3.
"Starting the clay season like this always gives me more confidence," said Nadal, who is aiming for a fourth straight French Open title. "First match on clay after a long time. So, happy about everything."
Nikolay Davydenko, who lost to Federer in the Estoril final on Sunday after pulling out with an injury to his left leg, showed no ill effects as he beat Simone Bolelli of Italy 6-2 7-6.
"I didn't feel any injuries," the fourth-seeded Russian said. "My legs were OK."
Davydenko easily beat Bolelli in the third round of the Sony Ericsson Open in Key Biscayne, Florida on March 31 and went on to win the tournament.
"It was much tougher for me on clay against him," Davydenko said.
Davydenko's third-round opponent will be 16th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber, who defeated fellow German Nicolas Kiefer 6-2 6-4.
Fifth seed David Ferrer ended the hopes of former world No. 1 Marat Safin, who needed a wildcard to enter the tournament.
Spaniard Ferrer, in his first match since winning the Valencia Open on Sunday, moved into the third round with a 6-3 6-2 victory as his Russian opponent suffered one of his famous meltdowns -- smashing his racquet and abusing an umpire following a string of unforced errors.
Ferrer will next face Janko Tipsarevic after the unseeded Croatian defeated Nicolas Lapentti of Ecuador 5-7 7-6 6-4.
Sam Querrey followed up his first-round upset of 10th seed Carlos Moya with a 6-1 7-5 victory against Andreas Seppi of Italy to become the first American to reach the third round since Vince Spadea in 2003.
The 20-year-old will next play French seventh seed Richard Gasquet, who crushed Belgian qualifier Kristof Vliegen 6-1 6-2.
Sixth seed David Nalbandian eased past Vliegen's compatriot Olivier Rochus 6-4 6-3 in his opening match, and will next face Tommy Robredo.
The Spanish 12th seed defeated big-serving Swede Robin Soderling 6-4 7-6 (7-3).
Meanwhile, three-time French Open champion Gustavo Kuerten will not play in next week's ATP event in Barcelona because of a muscle injury.
Kuerten, on his farewell tour, received a wild card to play in what would have been his penultimate event before ending his 14-year career at Roland Garros next month.
The Brazilian will be sidelined for about a week after injuring his left leg in the Monte Carlo Masters, where he lost in the first round on Monday. E-mail to a friend 
Copyright 2008 CNN. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
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