2009 Roland Garros champion Roger Federer cruised into the fourth round of the tournament, the major championship that he has only lifted once in his illustrious career so far. There, he will encounter Gael Monfils, whom he has faced on 12 previous occasions and leads 8-4 in the series. Monfils won their most recent encounter last month in Monte Carlo and will look to extend that streak further this week in Paris.

The tournament’s second seed advanced to the fourth round of the French Open with a straight sets win against Damir Dzumhur. He struck 38 winners an 22 unforced errors to close out the win 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 in one hour and 28 minutes of court time.

Seeded 13th at this year’s event, Gael Monfils completed the Friday of action in Paris with a five set win against Pablo Cuevas. He defeated the 21st seed 4-6, 7-6(1), 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 to secure entry into the final 16 at Roland Garros. Given his success against Federer in the past, this is certainly one of the matches to

“Paris is different; [it] is magic,” said Monfils. “I don’t know how, but I’m here… I think I can show some new emotion, I can show some tennis and I can show some side of me I don’t even know. I think the crowd just brings me something, something else, and I think it just showed a bit more today.”

This marks the 13th meeting between Federer and Monfils and the second encounter of the season. They most recently met on the clay courts in Monte Carlo, which was a meeting that Monfils won in dominant fashipon. While he has been competitive against Federer in their recent meetings, it will be interesting to see if Federer can avenge the losses where it matters most.