Roger Federer set a new record of 234 Grand Slam match wins Wednesday to reach the French Open last 32 where he was joined by top seed Novak Djokovic whose date with tennis destiny edged a little closer.
Federer, the third seed, overcame a mid-match wobble to beat Romania’s Adrian Ungur 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3, and go past Jimmy Connors’ long-standing record of 233 wins at the majors which he’d equalled in the first round. The 16-time Grand Slam title winner will face either Slovakia’s Martin Klizan or Nicolas Mahut of France for a place in the last 16.
The 27-year-old Ungur, the world number 92, knocked out Argentine veteran David Nalbandian in the first round on his Grand Slam debut, having failed to qualify for any major on 13 previous occasions.
He was swept aside on the first two sets on Wednesday, but once he had saved two match points in the third set tiebreaker, he came alive to take the second round clash to a fourth set. But normal service was soon resumed with Federer, playing in his 50th straight Grand Slam event, taking the match when the colourfully tattooed Ungur slapped a backhand return wide. Despite his third set hiccup, Federer said he always backed himself to win. “I expect myself to win and I usually manage to do it. It’s not like that at the start of your career when you think you are good enough but you are not that good yet,” said Federer. Djokovic edged closer to Grand Slam history with a 6-0, 6-4, 6-4 win over Slovenia’s Blaz Kavcic.
The world number one, bidding to become only the third man after Don Budge and Rod Laver to hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time, put down a gutsy challenge from world number 99 Kavcic.
Djokovic fired 41 winners past the Slovenian, taking victory on a fourth match point, to set up a clash with French qualifier Nicolas Devilder, the world number 286, for a place in the last 16.
“I gave him the opportunity to come back after I had had a perfect first seven games,” said Djokovic. “But I expected him to fight. He had nothing to lose and he showed his fighting qualities.”
Argentine ninth seed Juan Martin Del Potro, the only man outside of Djokovic, Federer and Rafael Nadal to have won a major in the last seven years, made the last 32 with a 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (7/3), 6-4, 6-4 win over France’s Edouard Roger-Vasselin.
Del Potro, battling a knee injury and who had to call the trainer onto the court for the second match in a row, faces Croatian 21st seed Marin Cilic for a place in the last 16. Cilic put out 2003 French Open winner and former world number one Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain 7-6 (7/4), 6-2, 6-3.
