(Reuters) - Defending champion Roger Federer cruised into the quarter-finals of the Western & Southern Open with a 6-1 6-1 demolition of South African Kevin Anderson on Thursday on an otherwise tough day for the top seeds that saw Rafa Nadal eliminated.
Swiss second seed Federer needed just 55 minutes to register his easy win but top seed Novak Djokovic, third seed Andy Murray and fifth seed Stan Wawrinka were all taken the distance in their matches at the U.S. Open warm-up event in Cincinnati.
Playing in his first tournament since losing the Wimbledon final to Djokovic last month, Federer looks fresh and rested and advanced to a last eight encounter against Spain's Feliciano Lopez, who upset 2013 Cincinnati champion Nadal 5-7 6-4 7-6(3).