Federer Seems to Be All Set in Paris
After Surviving an Early Tiebreaker, the No. 1 Player Ties Grand Slam Record

Associated Press
Monday, June 4, 2007

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.

Meantime, Serena Williams and Justine Henin set up a rematch of their bitter 2003 semifinal in this year's quarterfinals. The eighth-seeded Williams beat No. 10 Dinara Safina of Russia, 6-2, 6-3, while No. 1 Henin defeated No. 20 Sybille Bammer of Austria, 6-2, 6-4.

Less straightforward was No. 2 Maria Sharapova's 3-6, 6-4, 9-7 win over No. 14 Patty Schnyder of Switzerland. Sharapova saved two match points, was two points from defeat on 11 occasions and broke when Schnyder served for the match at 5-4, 6-5 and 7-6 in the third set, then again in the closing game.

Like in that 2003 Williams-Henin match, there was a question about gamesmanship. As Sharapova started her service motion at 7-7, 30-love, Schnyder tried to call time. Sharapova went ahead and hit -- she said she saw Schnyder's hand after finishing the serve -- and when Schnyder let the ball go by, Sharapova had her first ace of the tournament.

From that moment on, fans jeered and whistled derisively at Sharapova, including when she would pump a fist after winning a point, when she went to the change rackets in the middle of a game and when the match ended.

"It's tough playing tennis and being Mother Teresa at the same time," said Sharapova, who next meets No. 9 Anna Chakvetadze.

The other women's quarterfinals are 2004 U.S. Open champion Svetlana Kuznetsova against No. 7 Ana Ivanovic, and No. 4 Jelena Jankovic against No. 6 Nicole Vaidisova.

Henin has won 29 consecutive sets and two straight titles at Roland Garros; Williams has won her past 11 Grand Slam matches. As well as both are playing right now, any discussion of what's to come Tuesday on Court Philippe Chatrier is tied to what happened in that same spot exactly four years ago -- and everything that's happened to them since.

"I don't want to reflect on that anymore. I let it go. And obviously she did. Or whether she didn't or not, it doesn't matter anymore. This is a new year," said Williams, who is 6-3 against Henin. "It was what it was, but we're both different people now."