Federer Seems to Be All Set in Paris

After Surviving an Early Tiebreaker, the No. 1 Player Ties Grand Slam Record

Roger Federer plays his way into the French Open quarterfinals with Sunday's 7-6 (7-3), 6-4, 6-4 victory. (Francois Mori - AP)

PARIS, June 3 -- Roger Federer prepared for a long day on court, even though it's been quite a while since he's had one at a Grand Slam.

"I've got enough shirts for five-set matches in the bag," he said. "I only used one today, which was good."

Federer tied the Grand Slam record for most consecutive sets won, taking his streak to 35 by beating No. 13 Mikhail Youzhny of Russia, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4, 6-4, Sunday to reach the French Open quarterfinals.

The top-ranked Federer matched another Open era mark with his 11th straight-set Grand Slam victory in a row. John McEnroe set both records in 1984, during Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.

Federer wasn't aware of his accomplishment until he was asked about it after the match.

"It is something which is quite special, I would say," he said. "But I'm focused on Roland Garros and I want to win my matches. And if I can win in three sets, so much the better -- but I'm not looking for these types of records."

He hasn't lost a set at a major tournament since dropping the second set of last year's U.S. Open final against Andy Roddick.

Federer won the next two sets that day to win that title, then won all seven of his matches at the Australian Open in January in straight sets -- becoming the first man to win a Grand Slam championship without dropping a set since Bjorn Borg at the 1980 French Open.

Sunday's result also extended Federer's dominance over Youzhny. Federer improved to 10-0 against the Russian, winning 22 of the 24 sets they've played.

"We both can do almost everything on court. But he [does almost] everything better than me," said Youzhny, a semifinalist at the 2006 U.S. Open.

In the quarterfinals, Federer will face No. 9 Tommy Robredo of Spain, who beat No. 29 Filippo Volandri of Italy, 6-2, 7-5, 6-1.

In Sunday's other fourth-round men's matches, No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko of Russia beat No. 15 David Nalbandian of Argentina, 6-3, 7-6 (7-1), 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), and No. 19 Guillermo Cañas of Argentina eliminated Juan Monaco of Argentina, 6-0, 6-4, 6-2.