Players Under the Microscope / Editor / 18 May 2007 /

Roger Federer's comfortable win over Juan Carlos Ferrero at the Hamburg Masters has boosted his confidence ahead of the upcoming French Open.

Questions were being asked about the form of the world number one, after losing twice to Guillermo Canas, being beaten by Filippo Volandri in Rome last week and then struggling past Juan Monaco in the second round in Hamburg.

Last week, Federer decided to part company with his coach Tony Roche and there were claims that he might be losing his grip on the men's game.

The Swiss ace powered back though with a 6-2 6-3 victory over clay-court specialist Ferrero, setting up a quarter-final tie with David Ferrer.

Federer said: "I have a very good record against Ferrer. I'm always surprised at how comfortably I've been able to beat him.

"I've never even dropped a set and if I keep up this level I've definitely got a chance."

The ten-time Grand Slam winner is the 3.9 second favourite to claim victory in Hamburg, with Rafael Nadal available at 1.51.

Having been backed to small stakes at 2.4, Federer is now trading at 4.8 to win the only Grand Slam event that has eluded him.

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