Roger Federer was made to work hard by Fernando Verdasco before beating the Spanish veteran 6-3 3-6 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
The 20-times Grand Slam champion next faces Hungary’s Marton Fucsovics who beat Jan-Lennard Struff 6-4 6-2.
Earlier fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece strolled past qualifier Egor Gerasimov of Belarus 6-3 6-1 in another second round match.
Nick Kyrgios saved three match points on the way to stunning top seed Rafa Nadal 3-6 7-6 7-6 in the second round of the Acapulco International in Mexico
Kyrgios will play Swiss Stan Wawrinka, who defeated American Steve Johnson 7-6(5) 6-4.
World number three Alexander Zverev of Germany came through a tough first set before defeating Spanish veteran David Ferrer 7-6(0) 6-1.
