Roger Powers Into Second Week At Roland Garros

Rafael Nadal may well join him later on Friday, but Roger Federer will always be able to say he was the first man to achieve a record 14 fourth-round appearances at Roland Garros.

The 2009 champion set a new Roland Garros record with his 6-3, 6-1, 7-6(8) win against Norway’s #NextGenATP star Casper Ruud, surpassing Budge Patty’s 13 Round of 16 showings from 1946 to 1958.

Federer, returning to Roland Garros for the first time since 2015, outhit and outthought the 20-year-old Norwegian in the intergenerational battle, serving and volleying on second serves with success and avoiding lengthy rallies with the Next Gen ATP Finals hopeful on a picture-perfect day in Paris. 

View Infosys MatchBeats For Federer-Ruud

He will face French wild card Nicolas Mahut, also 37, or Argentine Leonardo Mayer for a place in the quarter-finals, which would be Federer’s first since January 2018 at the Australian Open, where he won his 20th Grand Slam title.

Federer said before his third-round match that he probably knew more about Casper’s father and coach, Christian Ruud, who joined Federer in three Roland Garros draws from 1999-2001, than he did about Casper.

The 20-year-old was playing in his first Grand Slam third round and made his best ATP Masters 1000 showing earlier this month by making the Round of 16 in Rome. He hung with Federer to start, but the Swiss broke twice in each of the first two sets to take the lead.

Ruud rallied in the third, breaking early, and although he was unable to consolidate, he stepped into the court to force a tie-break, where Federer clinched his fourth match point.

Did You Know?
Federer, 37 years 305 days, became the oldest man to make the fourth round in Paris since Italy’s Nicola Pietrangeli (38 years 267 days) in 1972.