Federer, Nadal reach record 14th French Open 4th round

TIL Desk Sports/ Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal continued their own history as they reached French Open round of 16 for a record 14th time, while women’s second seed Karolina Pliskova became the latest potential title contender to be knocked out following a loss to Petra Martic in the third round here on Friday.

Contesting his 400th Grand Slam match, Federer won the first two sets against Norwegian promise Casper Ruud 6-3, 6-1, before being pulled into a tie-break in the third set, but managed to go through with a score of 10-8. “The third set could have gone either way. He had chances early, then later, and then again after,” admitted Federer.

“It was nice to see him hang in there.” Federer will face Leonardo Mayer from Argentina for a quarter-final spot, and a potential semi-final clash with Nadal looms ahead. Nadal, in quest for a record-extending 12th French Open title, overcame Belgian 27th-seeded David Goffin 6-1, 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.