Roger Federer stepped up his lethal rhythm as he settles back into tennis, making the point with a 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 defeat of Jose Acasuso to move into the quarter-finals of the Miami Masters. ( dpa )
The Tuesday victory re-established the top seed as a title threat as he aims for his first trophy of 2008.
Federer's early-season battle with the mononucleosis virus has faded to a memory as the Swiss who has stood atop the rankings for 216 weeks starts to again show his best form.
Victory took 74 minutes with Federer never facing a break point. After a brief struggle in a first set which went into a tiebreak, the favourite seized control.
Federer now stands 3-0 against the 4th-ranked Argentine, all of his victories coming on hardcourt.