Three-time Roland Garros finalist and World No. 2 Roger Federer advanced to the fourth round for the 20th consecutive time in a Grand Slam tournament as he came back to beat No. 32 seed Paul-Henri Mathieu 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 at Roland Garros on Saturday.
The Swiss superstar, who came into Paris after winning the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 title in Madrid, won his eighth consecutive match. He also improved to 35-10 lifetime at Roland Garros.
After losing the first set, Federer took control of the second set by breaking twice. In the third set, Federer broke in the ninth game and then served it out. Federer broke again early in the third set and then lost his serve in the fourth game on a backhand error. But Federer broke to take a 4-3 on a backhand winner and held on for his fourth victory in as many meetings against the Frenchman.
Federer fired 14 aces and overall hit 59 winners while committing only 29 unforced errors in the two-hour and 46-minute match. He converted five of 16 break points while saving five of seven on his serve.
"I'm disappointed with nothing and I'm happy I won," said Federer, who is 29-6 on the season. "I missed some opportunities in the first set and he played well. But as I said, we didn't have much rhythm. I was trying to put the ball in, but in that case it's difficult to win all the points. That's why he stayed into the match. He had more rhythm in the beginning. It was more difficult for me. I was not feeling my serve very well. But as the match progressed, I felt better with my serve. It's always dangerous to lose the first set."
He will take on German Tommy Haas, who is the only unseeded player and oldest player remaining at 31. Haas pulled out a hard-fought 7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4 victory over young Frenchman Jeremy Chardy, who reached the fourth round last year. Former World No. 2 Haas hit 53 winners, including 16 aces, and converted six of 12 break point chances in the two-hour and 37-minute match.
Haas, currently No. 63 in the South African Airways 2009 ATP Rankings, is through to the fourth round at Roland Garros for the first time in seven years. The last time he advanced to the fourth round or better in a Grand Slam tournament was at the 2007 US Open, where he reached the quarter-finals (l. to Davydenko). His best results at a major have come at the Australian Open, where he is a three-time semi-finalist. Haas came into Roland Garros with two quarter-final showings in 2009 – at San Jose (l. to Roddick) and Houston (l. to Phau).
World No. 6 and 2003 ATP World Tour Champion Andy Roddick reached the fourth round at Roland Garros for the first time in eight appearances with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 victory over Frenchman Marc Gicquel.
The newly-married American, who played just one clay-court tournament in the lead up to Roland Garros, is yet to drop a set in his most successful Roland Garros campaign and demonstrated his new-found confidence on the clay in an impressive performance against World No. 46 Gicquel. Roddick raced out to a 5-1 lead in the first set with two breaks of serve and a strong serving display before closing out the one-set lead in 28 minutes. In the seventh game of the second set, a double fault from Gicquel presented Roddick with two break points and the Texas resident duly claimed the decisive break at the second opportunity as Gicquel’s drop shot landed in the net.
A comprehensive third set saw Roddick break in the third game with an accurate forehand passing shot and he claimed victory after one hour and 44 minutes as Gicquel returned a serve long.
The 26-year-old Roddick hit 27 winners to just 11 unforced errors, compared to an unforced error count of 25 for Gicquel. The Austin, Texas resident was dominant on serve, saving all three break points he faced and winning 84 per cent of points behind his first serve.
Roddick will next meet No. 11-seeded and last year's semi-finalist Gael Monfils, who defeated No. 24 seed Jurgen Melzer of Austria 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 on Court Philippe Chatrier.
The pair have split the previous six meetings with Roddick winning the past two earlier this year in Doha and Miami but the Frenchman is 2-0 on clay.
Monfils, who has been bothered with a knee injury for most of the European clay court circuit, is playing in his first tournament since Monte-Carlo in mid-April. Thus far he has only dropped one set en route to the fourth round.
"It was not hurting that much and it was hurting less," said Monfils. "I knew how to move on the court, and I'm really satisfied with my knee. I've taken care of it. I spend a lot of time on it, and it seems it works well. So I'll continue like this, and I'll be very careful."
Monfils is looking forward to the second week in Paris for the third time in the past four years. "Now it's going to be week No. 2, which is quite pleasant, week No. 2 in a Grand Slam," said the No. 10th-ranked Frenchman. "This is quite enjoyable, and unfortunately I've not had enough opportunities to play on clay this season, so I have many regrets. Many regrets because I know I can win a number of matches. I could have won more matches."
(From Website : http://www.atpworldtour.com/TENNIS/1/EN/NEWS/NEWSARTICLE_3823.ASP)
