Lleyton Hewitt has advanced to the quarterfinals of the Hamburg Masters tennis tournament after almost throwing away his match against Flavio Saretta.

Hewitt blew a 5-1 lead in the third set but recovered to beat Brazilian Saretta 6-4 2-6 6-4.

He next meets Austrian Juergen Melzer, who upset an angry Marat Safin 6-4 6-4.

Melzer, who next meets Hewitt, had never before made the last eight at a tournament of this level.

"This is the best tournament of my career," Melzer said after his victory over a lethargic Safin.

Top-ranked Roger Federer beat Fernando Gonzalez 7-5 6-1 to set up a quarterfinal showdown with Carlos Moya, who overcame Fernando Verdasco 6-4 3-6 6-4.

Moya won the Italian Open last week and is seeking his second straight title.

"I am returning better and better, everything in my game has moved up a gear and that's nice to see," said Federer.

Melzer bewildered an off-peak Safin with an array of crafty clay-court shots and used his second match point to stun the Russian.

A frustrated Safin at one point broke the chair of a linesman with his racket.

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