French Open: Roger Federer in the round of 16 without losing a set
Roger Federer has confidently entered the round of 16 of the 2019 French Open. The Swiss defeated the 20-year-old Norwegian Casper Ruud 6: 3, 6: 1 and 7: 6 (8).
by Jens Huiber
last edit: May 31, 2019, 05:02 pm
By Jens Huiber from Paris
Roger Federer is not only a legend, the Swiss is of course also a full professional and able to read his passport correctly. And so the questions about his age Federer are of little concern, at least externally. The fact that he was in the same tableau in 1999 as Christian Ruud, the father of his third-round opponent 20 years later, made the 37-year-old smile. First and foremost, that means that he is old, said Federer after his victory against Oscar Otte.
The New York Times now claims to have found that Federer even hit a few balls with Ruud senior as a sparring partner. Christian Ruud can not remember it, maybe he is too busy developing his son's career. According to reliable information, it is already traded as a star in Norway - as the current number 63 in the world.
However, 20-year-old Ruud has to postpone the first big chapter in his personal hero story: Federer prevailed on the court Suzanne Lenglen with 6: 3, 6: 1 and 7: 6.
Björn Borg and Stefan Edberg in the audience
Federer had played his first two matches on the Philippe Chatrier court, the Lenglen is of course not unknown to the maestro: Here, Federer had lost his last competition game in Paris against Stan Wawrinka in 2015; Jeremy Chardy trains. The difference to that unit on Kids' Day: this time all press positions were also occupied. And Björn Borg and Stefan Edberg honor the maestro.
# BETATHOMEFOWIN #
Federer watched his opponent for six games, then briefly chipped a return in the field at breakball, Ruud moved up and looked after the 3: 4 split second later. Set one in 35 minutes to Federer. The youngster started the second ambitiously, Federer did not allow anything, sprinted often after his second serve, took the lead with 2-0 sets after a total of 66 minutes.
Federer now either against Mayer or Mahut
In a way, Casper Ruud was not irritated and continued to pursue his match plan. That was to keep Federer on the backhand and then make the point with the inside-in forehand shot. That sometimes worked, but more often the Norwegian made a mistake. Or Federer shortened the points with network attacks.
After all, Ruud made the first break at the start of the third round, Federer made a comeback immediately. A tie break had to make the decision. Federer managed the first mini break to 3: 1, but put a forehand off before the break. Tied after six points played. But the 2009 champion also gave up the advantage of 5: 3, giving away his first match point after 126 minutes. Instead, Ruud earned a set ball. The fourth chance, however, was used by Roger Federer, who won the game after 2:11 hours.
Federer's stated goal before returning to the French Open was to reach the round of 16. This was successful in the success against Casper Ruud. And the prospects in the fourth round are not bad for the Swiss: he meets the winner of the match between Nicolas Mahut and Leonardo Mayer.