Roger Federer rolled past No. 25 seed Filip Krajinovic 6-2, 6-1 in pursuit of a record sixth BNP Paribas Open title on Monday, as a five-time champion. Federer improved to 65-5 since returning from a left knee injury last year with his third-round victory in a rare day match. Federer hit a running forehand passing shot to break at love and take the set 6-2. Federer cruised to a 3-0 lead in the second and closed out the win in 58 minutes.
"I was playing aggressive and feeling like he was not loving my slice," said Federer, who owns the No. 1 ranking. "I was able to mix up my game nicely, make it difficult for him."
"I think the beginning of the matches are always important, get off to a good start," Federer said. "I did that."
In other matches, Borna Coric of Croatia upset No. 13 Roberto Bautista Agut of Spain 6-1, 6-3; Jeremy Chardy beat No. 20 Adrian Mannarino 7-5, 4-6, 6-1 in an all-French matchup; and No. 11 Pablo Carreno Busta of Spain defeated Daniil Medvedev of Russia 6-1, 7-5.
American Taylor Fritz outlasted Fernando Verdasco of Spain 4-6, 6-2, 7-6 (1).
