Federer is one win away from becoming oldest-ever male No 1

Roger Federer last night moved within a win of eclipsing Andre Agassi’s record as the oldest-ever world No 1.

Federer reached the quarterfinals of the ABN AMRO event in Rotterdam with a 7-6 (108), 7-5 win over over German Philipp Kohlschreiber.

One more victory at the tournament will ensure the 36-year-old Swiss leapfrogs his old rival Rafael Nadal at the top of the rankings. He would also surpass Agassi, who was No 1 at 33 years and 133 days.

Federer will meet Robin Haase or Tallon Griekspoor in the last eight.

At the Qatar Total Open, Johanna Konta fell away after a strong start as Angelique Kerber progressed.

A mouth-watering last-16 match-up between Germany’s former world No 1 and Great Britain’s top player looked to be going Konta’s way.

The 26-year-old began strongly and powered through the first set, only for Kerber to hit back and win 1-6, 6-1, 6-3 to set-up a quarter-final against top seed Caroline Wozniacki.

“I think in the first set I was not playing my tennis and needed a bit of time to find my rhythm,” Kerber said on www. wtatennis.com.

“It’s always tough to play against Johanna, she’s such a good player so I was trying to go for it in the third set.”

Meanwhile, Maria Sharapova has pulled out of next week’s Dubai Championships with an arm injury.

The 30-year-old Russian has struggled physically since her comeback from a 15-month doping ban last April, missing two and a half months with a thigh injury and then picking up an arm problem on her return in July.