ROTTERDAM, Netherlands - Roger Federer was once again in vintage form as he hammered Swiss journeyman Stanislas Wawrinka 6-1 6-4 in the second round of the World Indoor Tournament today.
Former Australian Open champion Thomas Johansson continued his resurgence by outgunning his in-form namesake Joachim Johansson 6-4 6-4.
Ranked 128places above his fellow Swiss, top seed Federer showed no signs of the jitters that had crept up during his opening match to reach the last eight for the sixth successive time.
The win also put him one match away from a possible showdown with Britain's Tim Henman, who beat Federer in the quarter-finals here last year.
Third seed Henman will play Frenchman Michael Llodra later in the day.
Teenage qualifier Wawrinka, who carved the biggest win of his career in the previous round when he upset France's Sebastien Grosjean, barely knew what hit him in the first set as he lost it in 25 minutes.
The second set looked to be heading in a similar way when he was again broken at the beginning but cheered on by a boisterous crowd, Wawrinka found his footing and even earned a break point when his illustrious opponent was serving for the match.
After handing Wawrinka the opportunity to get back on to level terms by slamming the ball wide despite having an open court at his disposal, Federer quickly restored order by winning the next three points for the match.
Thomas Johansson, still trying to recapture his best form after injuries wrecked his 2003 season, had entered the contest as the underdog. Fifth seed Joachim arrived in the Dutch port city on a roll, having won two titles already this year.
But against his more experienced opponent, Joachim simply floundered, just as he had done in their only previous meeting last year.
A single break in each set was enough for the 29th-ranked Thomas to reach the last eight, an ace on match point completing the victory.
"Today was a good day for me. I got his serve back and that is key to playing him," said Thomas, who even won the ace count in the match after firing 15 to Joachim's 13.
"I'm really satisfied with today's performance because I haven't had very many wins against top 10 players since I got back from my injuries."
Mario Ancic of Croatia unleashed 24 aces as he kept alive his chances of landing his first career title with a 6-4 6-3 win over Belgian qualifier Olivier Rochus.
