Djokovic, Federer reach third round in Paris

Published February 05, 2015

Paris, France (SportsNetwork.com) - Former runner-up Novak Djokovic and former champion Roger Federer were a pair of easy second-round winners Wednesday at the French Open.

The second-seeded former world No. 1 Djokovic drilled Frenchman Jeremy Chardy 6-1, 6-4, 6-2 on Court Chatrier, while the fourth-seeded former top-ranked Swiss great Federer improved to 13-0 in second-round French Open matches by cruising past Argentine qualifier Diego Sebastian Schwartzman, making his Grand Slam debut, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 on Court Lenglen.

Djokovic is now 22-0 in career sets played against Chardy.

"I have been looking forward to this tournament for a long time," Djokovic said. "I'm in a good form."

The Serbian star lost to eight-time champion Rafael Nadal in the French final two years ago and gave way to the mighty clay court king in an epic semifinal here last year.

The 27-year-old six-time major titlist Djokovic still needs Roland Garros to complete a career Grand Slam.

The 17-time Grand Slam king Federer titled here in 2009 and is a four-time French Open runner-up to Nadal. His victory on Wednesday marked his 60th at the French (60-14).

Up next for Djokovic will be Croat Marin Cilic, while Federer will encounter Russian Dmitry Tursunov on Friday.

Sixth-seeded Czech slugger Tomas Berdych overcame Ukrainian Aleksandr Nedovyesov 6-7 (4-7), 6-4, 7-5, 6-3; eighth-seeded big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic rolled along by handling Czech Jiri Vesely 7-6 (7-4), 6-4, 6-1; 10th- seeded towering American John Isner snuck past Kazakhstan's Mikhail Kukushkin 6-7 (6-8), 7-6 (7-4), 6-3, 7-6 (7-4); 13th-seeded French favorite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga disposed of Austrian left-hander Jurgen Melzer 6-2, 6-3, 6-4; and an upset came when 35-year-old Czech Radek Stepanek doused 15th-seeded Russian veteran Mikhail Youzhny 6-0, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4.

Other top-20 action saw 17th-seeded Spaniard Tommy Robredo paste Frenchman Kenny De Schepper 6-2, 6-3, 6-3, 18th-seeded Latvian Ernests Gulbis drop Argentine Facundo Bagnis 6-2, 7-5, 6-0 and Spaniard Marcel Granollers upend 20th-seeded Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov 1-6, 3-6, 6-3, 6-0, 6-2. Robredo should have his hands full with the 6-foot-9 Isner on Friday. Gulbis already owns two titles in France this year, including one on clay just last week in Nice.

Also on Day 4, 22nd-seeded 6-foot-8 Pole Jerzy Janowicz bested veteran Finnish left-hander Jarkko Nieminen 7-6 (7-4), 7-6 (7-4), 6-4; a 25th-seeded Cilic got past German Tobias Kamke 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 6-0; 27th-seeded Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut dismissed France's Benoit Paire 6-4, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2; 29th-seeded Frenchman Gilles Simon grounded Colombian Alejandro Gonzalez 6-4, 6-0, 6-2; a 31st-seeded Tursunov erased American Sam Querrey 6-4, 7-5, 6-1; and surging Slovak Martin Klizan edged out Dutchman Robin Haase 6-1, 3-6, 6-1, 1-6, 7-5.

The first round concluded Wednesday when American Steve Johnson outlasted France's Laurent Lokoli, 4-6, 6-7 (7-9), 7-6 (7-3), 6-3, 6-3, in a match that was suspended because of darkness on Tuesday. Johnson trailed two-sets-to-one before mounting a comeback.

In some second-round action on Thursday, the reigning world No. 1 Nadal will face rising Austrian Dominic Thiem, fifth-seeded 2013 French Open runner- up David Ferrer will encounter Italian Simone Bolelli and seventh-seeded Wimbledon champ Andy Murray will battle Aussie Marinko Matosevic.

This year's Aussie Open runner-up and the reigning French and U.S. Open champion Nadal owns 13 major titles, including eight of the last nine at Roland Garros, where he's a remarkable 60-1 lifetime.

URL

https://www.foxnews.com/sports/djokovic-federer-reach-third-round-in-paris