Second seed Roger Federer produced a thrilling riposte to Gilles Simon's gallant attempt to knock him out of the French Open, coming from behind to beat the Frenchman 6-1 4-6 2-6 6-2 6-3 to reach the quarter-finals.
Federer's proud record of consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final appearances stretching back to 2004 looked in jeopardy when Simon turned the match on its head with some superb tennis after being initially outclassed.
But Federer refused to panic and hit back in style to take the sequence to 36 in front of a raucous late-evening crowd on Philippe Chatrier Court.
The 2009 champion will now face another Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who easily dispatched Serbian Viktor Troicki 6-3 6-3 6-3 for a place in the semi finals.
Tsonga beat Federer in the Wimbledon last-eight in 2011 and is desperate to repeat that kind of achievement on a more regular basis.
"I know fully well that I was able to beat them (the top players) at a given point in time and for me the real challenge is not to beat one but to beat several, one after the other," he told a news conference.
"Beating one - I know that I'm able to do that. Beating two, well, for the time being, I have never done it. So that's the challenge."
Spain's David Ferrer cut Kevin Anderson down to size to reach the French Open quarter-finals on Sunday, outclassing the towering South African to win 6-3 6-1 6-1.
The fourth seed had reached the last 16 without dropping a set for the third straight year and Anderson never looked like worrying the 31-year-old dynamo in a one-sided contest.
Twenty-third seed Anderson, the first South African to reach the last 16 since Wayne Ferreira in 1996, possesses one of the biggest serves in the game but it made no impact on Ferrer who broke it at the first time of asking.
"I don't want to dream too much," Ferrer said, throwing cold water all over suggestions he could finally smash through the semi-final barrier at a slam.
"I am so very happy to have reached the quarter-finals. Of course, reaching the finals here would be okay but I wouldn't say that I would not sleep at night thinking about it, or I would sleep better."
Ferrer will now face Robredo in the quarters as the claycourt warrior came back from the dead yet again to beat another Spaniard Nicolas Almagro 6-7(5) 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-4 after a three-hour-49-minute baseline battle.
It was the third match in a row that Robredo had performed a Houdini act from a two-set deficit, the first player to achieve that feat in a grand slam since Frenchman Henri Cochet at Wimbledon in 1927, and was overcome with emotion at the end.
But Federer refused to panic and hit back in style to take the sequence to 36 in front of a raucous late-evening crowd on Philippe Chatrier Court.
The 2009 champion will now face another Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who easily dispatched Serbian Viktor Troicki 6-3 6-3 6-3 for a place in the semi finals.
Tsonga beat Federer in the Wimbledon last-eight in 2011 and is desperate to repeat that kind of achievement on a more regular basis.
"I know fully well that I was able to beat them (the top players) at a given point in time and for me the real challenge is not to beat one but to beat several, one after the other," he told a news conference.
"Beating one - I know that I'm able to do that. Beating two, well, for the time being, I have never done it. So that's the challenge."
Spain's David Ferrer cut Kevin Anderson down to size to reach the French Open quarter-finals on Sunday, outclassing the towering South African to win 6-3 6-1 6-1.
The fourth seed had reached the last 16 without dropping a set for the third straight year and Anderson never looked like worrying the 31-year-old dynamo in a one-sided contest.
Twenty-third seed Anderson, the first South African to reach the last 16 since Wayne Ferreira in 1996, possesses one of the biggest serves in the game but it made no impact on Ferrer who broke it at the first time of asking.
"I don't want to dream too much," Ferrer said, throwing cold water all over suggestions he could finally smash through the semi-final barrier at a slam.
"I am so very happy to have reached the quarter-finals. Of course, reaching the finals here would be okay but I wouldn't say that I would not sleep at night thinking about it, or I would sleep better."
Ferrer will now face Robredo in the quarters as the claycourt warrior came back from the dead yet again to beat another Spaniard Nicolas Almagro 6-7(5) 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-4 after a three-hour-49-minute baseline battle.
It was the third match in a row that Robredo had performed a Houdini act from a two-set deficit, the first player to achieve that feat in a grand slam since Frenchman Henri Cochet at Wimbledon in 1927, and was overcome with emotion at the end.
"It's funny, because the last three, four years I couldn't even run that much," Robredo, whose career seemed in doubt last year when he missed five months because of hamstring surgery and dropped to 471 in the world rankings, told reporters.
"I lost the first, I lost the second, and I had pain in my arm and couldn't even hold the racket a couple of games.
"Then suddenly I recovered. He was 4-1-up. Maybe he had a little bit of doubt at that moment. Then I just pushed hard and I won the third. Then I was just dreaming and dreaming to try to do it again, and I did it."
In the women's game, World number one Serena Williams continued her serene progress at Roland Garros, beating Roberta Vinci 6-1 6-3 to reach the French Open quarter-finals.
The match hammered home the inescapable truth that there is no substitute for raw power in the modern women's game as Williams, whose array of shots could blow holes in concrete, ably demonstrated by out-muscling the canny Vinci.
The Italian found out that as you head into the second week of a grand slam, you need at least one weapon in your armoury that can put your opponent on the back foot.
As it happens, Williams has a whole arsenal at her disposal and wrapped up victory for the loss of only four games, to take the total she has conceded in the entire tournament to 10.
A sterner test for Williams is likely to come in the next round as her quarter-final opponent is 2009 champion Svetlana Kuznetsova, who is not seeded at Roland Garros for the first time since 2003 but beat the American when they last played at Roland Garros.
The Russian dropped to 85th in the world after a six-month injury layoff following last year's Wimbledon, but has climbed to 39 and is a walloping baseliner who can crunch winners off both flanks.
"The last time we played here she won, so that will probably get her pumped up and she's on a comeback," Williams said.
"She has nothing to lose but everything to gain."
Kuznetsova booked her place in the quarter-finals by outplaying German eighth seed Angelique Kerber 6-4 4-6 6-3.
"She's the best in the world so far. She's been playing unbelievable tennis," Kuznetsova said of Williams.
"But I believe that I have my game and my good days, as well. Let's cross fingers I will have a good day that one. She's just a fighter."
Mens' results:
2-Roger Federer (Switzerland) beat 15-Gilles Simon (France) 6-1 4-6 2-6 6-2 6-3
4-David Ferrer (Spain) beat 23-Kevin Anderson (South Africa) 6-3 6-1 6-1
6-Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) beat Viktor Troicki (Serbia) 6-3 6-3 6-3
32-Tommy Robredo (Spain) beat 11-Nicolas Almagro (Spain) 6-7(5) 3-6 6-4 6-4 6-4
Women's results:
1-Serena Williams (U.S.) beat 15-Roberta Vinci (Italy) 6-1 6-3
5-Sara Errani (Italy) beat 20-Carla Suarez Navarro (Spain) 5-7 6-4 6-3
Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia) beat 8-Angelique Kerber (Germany) 6-4 4-6 6-3
4- Agnieszka Radwanska (Pol) beat Ana Ivanovic (Serbia) 6-2 6-4
Serena is reali a beast mhen
ReplyDeleteNadal all the way!!
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