Federer struggles to overcome 1,078th-ranked Suzuki

TOKYO, Oct 6 (Reuters) World number one Roger Federer survived an almighty scare from 1,078th-ranked Takao Suzuki before battling his way into the semi-finals of the Japan Open with a tight three-set victory today.

The top seed came through 4-6 7-5 7-6 after being pushed to the limit by an inspired Japanese wildcard, who was playing his first tournament in nine months.

The Swiss finally booked a place in the last four on his second match point, a fierce forehand return that forced Suzuki into a volley error to give Federer the third-set tiebreak 7-3.

Federer needed just over two hours to beat Suzuki, who was making his return to the game after suffering a serious shoulder injury in January.

Playing for the first time in Japan, the nine-times grand slam champion moves on to a last four encounter against either Finland's Jarkko Nieminen or German Benjamin Becker tomorrow.

REUTERS PM SND1323