French Open 2021: Roger Federer through at Roland Garros
Roger Federer finds a way to beat Germany’s Dominik Koepfer in the French Open, despite being far from his best in a scrappy third-round match.
Roger Federer finds a way to beat Germany’s Dominik Koepfer in the French Open, despite being far from his best in a scrappy third-round match.
Naomi Osaka thanks fans “for all the love” she has received since her withdrawal from the French Open.
As the clock approached 1 a.m. in Paris, former World No. 1 Roger Federer sealed his spot in the fourth round at Roland Garros with a dramatic 7-6(5), 6-7(3), 7-6(4), 7-5 victory against Dominik Koepfer.
The eighth seed was on the ropes as Koepfer took the second set and a 4-2 lead in the third. But Federer needed three hours and 39 minutes – along with three grueling tie-breaks – to take back control and secure the win under the lights on Court Philippe-Chatrier, which was cleared of fans due to the 9 p.m. curfew in Paris.
Federer advanced to the Round of 16 at a Grand Slam for the 68th time, and extended his all-time record for most round of 16 appearances at the Grand Slams. Federer has been tested throughout the fortnight, after defeating qualifier Denis Istomin in straight sets and taking down Marin Cilic 6-2, 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-2.
Most Grand Slam R16 Appearances (all-time)
| Player | No. of Appearances |
| 1) Roger Federer | 68 |
| 2) Novak Djokovic | 54 |
| 3) Rafael Nadal | 50 |
| 4) Jimmy Connors | 43 |
| T5) Andre Agassi | 42 |
| T5) Ivan Lendl | 42 |
Koepfer, who vowed before the match that he would bring the fight to Federer in his first meeting with the 2009 champion, did just that in the 64-minute opening set. But Federer’s experience shined through in the decisive moments, employing his variety to great effect to keep Koepfer under pressure on serve.
Federer’s court coverage was also on display at 5-4 as he tracked down a volley from far beyond the doubles alley on his way to a set point – the Swiss’ fifth break opportunity of the set. Koepfer did well to hang with Federer as they went into a tie-break, but the eighth seed took the lead after converting his third set point.
R I D I C U L O U S ?#RolandGarros | @rogerfederer pic.twitter.com/0XtB6o1SC7
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 5, 2021
The German blinked first in the second set as he surrendered serve for the first time to give Federer a 2-0 lead, but it was short-lived. Koepfer stayed aggressive and took the ball early, giving Federer plenty of trouble as the German brought them level at 4-4 after a three-game run of breaks. Into another tie-break, Federer’s unforced errors added up and Koepfer took the set after his opponent’s one-handed backhand drifted long.
But Koepfer’s calm momentarily cracked in the third set, as he served at 4-3 with a break to the good. He struggled to find first serves, and Federer capitalised on the letdown with aggressive returns to get them back on serve. The pair stayed toe-to-toe in their third tie-break of the night, before Federer inched ahead with a big backhand down the line to set up set point. He earned an unforced error to clinch the lead.
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The 39-year-old found another level late in the fourth set as Koepfer threatened to take them into another tie-break. He claimed the decisive break at 6-5, and served out his spot in the round of 16 after three hours and 39 minutes.
Federer will next face ninth seed Matteo Berrettini in the fourth round. The Italian took down South Korea’s Soonwoo Kwon 7-6(6), 6-3, 6-4 to advance to the last 16 in Paris for the first time.
Did You Know?
The only time Federer lost a match at Roland Garros to a player ranked as low as No. 59 Koepfer was in 2003 against No. 88 Luis Horna in the first round.
Elina Svitolina becomes the seventh women’s top-10 seed to exit the French Open’s opening week but there are wins for Iga Swiatek and Sofia Kenin.
Second seeds Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah advanced to the quarter-finals at Roland Garros on Saturday with a 6-4, 6-3 win against Australians Max Purcell and Luke Saville.
The Colombians, who are three-time semi-finalists in Paris, won 91 per cent of their first-serve points and did not face a break point in a dominating display. They improved to a 19-8 record for the season, having won two titles this year at the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell.
Their reward is a clash with Kevin Krawietz and Horia Tecau after the ninth seeds edged out Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares 6-3, 3-6, 6-3 in one hour and 38 minutes. The German-Romanian team hit eight aces against the seventh seeds on their way to victory as Krawietz goes in search for a third straight Roland Garros title. He has won the previous two titles at the clay-court major alongside countryman Andreas Mies, who is recovering from right knee surgery.
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Elsewhere, Alexander Bublik and Andrey Golubev upset Dutchmen Wesley Koolhof and Jean-Julien Rojer 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-4. The Kazakhstanis won 74 per cent of points behind their first serves and broke the 11th seeds twice. They will play either Hugo Nys and Tim Puetz or Benoit Paire and Romain Arneodo next.
Nikola Cacic and Tomislav Brkic also moved into the quarter-finals with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Simone Bolelli and Maximo Gonzalez to set up a possible clash against sixth seeds Pierre-Hugues Herbert and Nicolas Mahut. The Frenchmen face Robin Haase and Jan-Lennard Struff on Sunday.
Britain’s Jamie Murray loses twice in one day as his doubles campaigns at the French Open comes to an end.
Cameron Norrie becomes the final British player to fall in the French Open singles as he is unable to shock Rafael Nadal.
Jannik Sinner battled past Mikael Ymer 6-1, 7-5, 6-3 on Saturday to join fellow #NextGenATP star Lorenzo Musetti in the fourth round at Roland Garros. The pair’s victories, with Musetti defeating Marco Cecchinato, means it is the first time two teenagers have reached the fourth round at Roland Garros since Novak Djokovic and Gael Monfils achieved the feat in 2006.
Sinner, who hit 43 winners, crucially saved a set point to break back at 4-5 in the second, which helped him regain momentum as he marched to victory in two hours and 22 minutes. The Italian broke Ymer five times to improve to 2-1 in his ATP Head2Head against the 22-year-old.
The 18th seed broke into the Top 20 of the FedEx ATP Rankings for the first time in April and will next play either Rafael Nadal, against whom he lost to in the quarter-finals in Paris last year, or Briton Cameron Norrie.
The 19-year-old Italian, who captured his second ATP Tour title in February at the Great Ocean Road Open (d. Travaglia) and reached his first ATP Masters 1000 final in March at the Miami Open presented by Itau (l. to Hurkacz), is now 24-10 on the season.
Sinner was dominant in the opening set, as he won 58 per cent of points on Ymer’s first serve. The 2019 Next Gen ATP Finals champion used his heavy forehand to cause difficulties for the 22-year-old, who made 13 unforced errors.
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Ymer quickly raised his level in the second set and after saving three break points at 2-3, he gained the advantage himself to move 4-3 ahead when Sinner fired a backhand into the net. He played more aggressively, stepping into the court to notch nine winners, eight more than he hit in set one. However, Ymer failed to serve out the set, as Sinner hammered a forehand into the open court to level the score before breaking again to move ahead.
Just like the second set, the third continued to be a tight affair with Sinner fending off eight break points while Ymer saved three himself. With both showing excellent consistency from the baseline, it was Sinner who found the breakthrough at 4-3 when Ymer missed a forehand long. The Italian then held serve to advance.
Ymer defeated Roberto Carballes Baena and 14th seed Gael Monfils to reach the third round in Paris and equal his best Grand Slam Performance (Australian Open 3R, 2021). However, the World. No. 105 failed to become the first Swede to reach the fourth round at Roland Garros since Robin Soderling in 2011.
Britain’s Alfie Hewett produces a stunning fightback to reach the French Open men’s wheelchair final and move closer to defending the title.
Empty stands, ‘bubble’ environments, players having to handle their own towels – the ATP Tour has changed a lot since Roger Federer was forced to step away from the sport in February 2020. Now in the first Grand Slam appearance of his comeback to action, the former World No. 1 will face another brand-new challenge as he gears up for his first night session on Saturday at Roland Garros.
The 2009 champion was quick to keep expectations in check ahead of Roland Garros, his third tournament of the year. Federer earned a 1-2 record across ATP 250 events in Doha and Geneva, and according to the Swiss, regaining his match fitness has only been part of the challenge.
[TENNIS POINT]“I think [I’m] getting used to tournament and match rhythm again, the whole thing with the towels there, the shot clock there, everything that goes with it,” Federer said after his first-round match in Paris. “I really felt like I didn’t find the rhythm [in Geneva]… I think that’s what got me at the end.”
With five matches under his belt in 2021, eighth seed Federer will hope he’s gotten the hang of it as he takes on 27-year-old Dominik Koepfer in the new night session on Court Philippe-Chatrier. It will be his first meeting against the No. 59-ranked German, who is into this stage at Roland Garros for the first time. Koepfer is the 347th different opponent that Federer has faced in his career.
“He’s so crafty. He’s so talented. It’s amazing to watch him play,” Koepfer said of Federer. “He’s different than all the other players, and I hope Roger wins [his second-round match] just so I can say I played him. I don’t just want to play him, I want to give him a battle and maybe come out with a win somehow.”
The winner of Federer and Koepfer will go on to face either ninth seed Matteo Berrettini or South Korea’s Soonwoo Kwon, who will meet for the first time on Court Simonne-Mathieu.
In the Chatrier day session, World No. 1 Novak Djokovic will take the court against Ricardas Berankis looking to improve his 3-0 ATP Head2Head lead against the Lithuanian. Djokovic dropped just five games in the pair’s most recent meeting at last year’s Roland Garros.
Djokovic, who landed in the same section as Federer and could meet him in the quarter-finals, has yet to drop a set in Paris. He arrived at the year’s second Grand Slam high on confidence after reaching an ATP Masters 1000 final on clay in Rome and lifting his 83rd tour-level trophy in Belgrade.
“I’m playing well, feeling great. I’m ready to go deep in this tournament,” Djokovic declared after his second-round victory over Pablo Cuevas. “Hopefully that’s gonna be the case, but I’ll take it match by match, and so far the two matches that I have played have been played [at] a high quality.”
The winner will face an Italian opponent in the fourth round: either Parma finalist Marco Cecchinato or #NextGenATP Lorenzo Musetti, one of three players under 20 who reached the third round.
Third seed Rafael Nadal will continue his quest for a record-extending 14th Coupe des Mousquetaires on Court Suzanne-Lenglen, where he will face Cameron Norrie for the third time this season. The Spaniard claimed a comfortable victory over the Brit in their most recent meeting en route to the trophy in Barcelona (d. Tsitsipas) in April.
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But Norrie has been turning heads this season, especially on the red clay, where he has reached two finals at ATP 250 events in Estoril (l. Ramos-Vinolas) and Lyon (l. Tsitsipas). In Estoril, Norrie stunned Cristian Garin and Marin Cilic, while in Lyon he earned the biggest win of his career over Dominic Thiem.
“Every week he’s making good results, winning against very good players,” Nadal said. “I know [it is] going to be a tough one. I need to be ready to play my best. I know he has a style of game that is not easy to play against. I need to play well.”
Nadal or Norrie will take on the winner of #NextGenATP Italian Jannik Sinner, the 18th seed, and 22-year-old Swede Mikael Ymer, who will be in action on Court 14.
Keen tennis fans will want to keep an eye on Court Simonne-Mathieu as two unseeded players, qualifier Carlos Alcaraz and Jan-Lennard Struff, battle for a spot in the second week. Alcaraz, 18, has already impressed by advancing to the third round in Paris, the best Grand Slam result of his young career in only his second main draw appearance.
Read More: #NextGenATP Alcaraz, Part Of The Youth Revolution In Paris
“The first match you have to win is against yourself,” Alcaraz told ATPTour.com. “In the end, knowing how to manage your emotions is very important and I’m getting better at that.”
Struff, 31, is bidding for his second fourth-round appearance here after pulling off one of the biggest early-tournament upsets with a defeat of seventh seed Andrey Rublev in his opening match. A meeting with either 10th seed Diego Schwartzman or Philipp Kohlschreiber, who will open the day’s action on Lenglen, awaits the winner.
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