Four No. 1s Into ATP Cincinnati Quarterfinals

Advancing in straights sets Thursday were (1) Roger Federer (d. O.Rochus), (3) Lleyton Hewitt (d. Ancic), (4) Marat Safin (d. Hrbaty, bagel in the first), and (5) Andy Roddick (d. Chela).

"A lot of the guys these days are pretty one-dimensional," said Hewitt after besting the all-courter Ancic, trying himself to add a little more aggression to his game. "There's not a whole heap of guys like Greg Rusedski or Tim Henman, these guys that are capable of chip-charging, serve-volleying. So, you know, if I can throw in a little bit different tactic now and then, you know, you never know -- that element of surprise can sometimes help."

Rochus, who won the 1998 Wimbledon junior doubles title with Federer, says the Swiss has developed nicely.

"I remember him when we were 13 years old. He was always losing 6-0, 6-1 against everybody in the under-14 tournament," Rochus said. "We were almost laughing at him, and now he's laughing at us. He's No. 1, easy. And really, when he was young, at the beginning, he was really bad."

Safin evened his career meetings with Hrbaty at 7-7 by getting on top early.

"I tried to be as aggressive as I can and try to get into the match very quickly," Safin said. "Because with him, with the style of game that he has, it's really difficult to get used to. He's the kind of player that you need to be really careful and really focus from the beginning of the match."

Other winners into the quarterfinals were (6) Nikolay Davydenko (d. Gonzalez), Argentine Jose Acasuso (d. Horna), Russian Mikhail Youzhny (d. Monfils from a set down), and American wildcard Robby Ginepri (d. Moya).

In second-round doubles upsets, unseeded Wimbledon champs Huss/Moodie ousted the top-seeded Bryan brothers in three sets, and Spaniards Ferrer/Robredo likewise surprised No. 8-seeded Aussies Arthurs/Hanley.

Lining up for the Friday quarterfinals are (1) Federer vs. Acasuso (Fed won their lone meeting in four sets at the 2003 US Open), (4) Safin vs. Ginepri (the American won their lone meeting 0-and-1 at the 2003 MS-Indian Wells), (3) Hewitt vs. (6) Davydenko (Hewitt leads 2-0, both on clay), and (5) Roddick vs. Youzhny (the Russian leads 2-1, with Roddick winning their last meeting in five sets at the 2003 Aussie Open).

"He's tough," Roddick said of Youzhny. "He always tries to be the aggressor. He's pretty flashy as a shot-maker, so I'll definitely have my hands full."