 | « Back to article | Print this article |
Federer survives hiccup to land record win
Third seed Roger Federer won a record 234th grand slam match on Wednesday, fighting his way into the third round of the French Open with a 6-3, 6-2, 6-7, 6-3 victory over Romanian Adrian Ungur.
The Swiss, looking to secure an unprecedented 17th grand slam title on the Paris clay, surpassed the previous professional era record he had shared with American Jimmy Connors.
Federer wasted two match points in the third-set tiebreak, which Ungur won 8-6, but the world number 91 ran out of steam in the fourth set.
Federer, who is contesting his 14th consecutive Roland Garros, will next face either France's Nicolas Mahut or Martin Klizan of Slovakia.
Djokovic makes light work of Kavcic
World number one Novak Djokovic became the first man into the third round of the French Open on Wednesday when he defeated battling Slovenian Blaz Kavcic 6-0, 6-4, 6-4.
Djokovic, bidding to become the first man in 43 years to hold all the grand-slam titles at once, made a flying start, winning the first seven games.
The crowd sitting in the sunshine on the Suzanne Lenglen showcourt, however, began rooting for the underdog and when Kavcic won his first game, for 1-1 in the second set, they cheered him wildly.
Kavcic, ranked 99th in the world, took heart from their support and stepped up his game, breaking Serbian Djokovic for 2-1 before surrendering his own serve on the fourth breakpoint in a long, hard eighth game.
Though he ultimately lost the second set, Kavcic continued to battle and the crowd continued to cheer for him until the umpire ticked them off for making too much noise while the ball was in play.
Kavcic saved three matchpoints before putting a backhand long on the fourth.
Azarenka cruises into third round
World number one Victoria Azarenka looked more like her usual dominant self at the French Open on Wednesday when she demolished German qualifier Dinah Pfizenmaier 6-1, 6-1 to ease into the third round.
The Belarussian, who was on the verge of a shock first round defeat by Italian Alberta Brianti on Monday, needed just 55 minutes to crush the world number 198.
Azarenka lost the first game but went on to reel off 11 in a row as she overpowered her 20-year-old opponent.
"I didn't really know my opponent today, and it took me the first few games to kind of understand what she does and what kind of game she plays to adjust a little bit," Azarenka told reporters. "But after a few games I started to find my better rhythm. Definitely played much better today."
Next up for the Australian Open champion will be Canada's Aleksandra Wozniak.
"She's a tricky opponent," Azarenka said of her next test. "I definitely have to come up with good tennis in my next round."
Del Potro digs deep to reach round III
Juan Martin del Potro, who was taken to four sets in the opener by Spanish veteran Albert Montanes, had to dig deep again in his second match.
The ninth seeded Argentine lost the first set in a tiebreak but came back to win 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3), 6-4, 6-4 against Frenchman Edouard Roger-Vasselin.
The 23-year-old Del Potro is the only man outside of Novak Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer to win a Grand Slam title in the last seven years and is one of the dangerous floaters in the draw, having won the Estoril Open on clay this summer.
© Copyright 2024 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.