Roger Federer outlasts Gilles Simon to reach quarters – Roland Garros 2013
Swiss Maestro Roger Federer rallied past the 15th seed Gilles Simon in a five-set thriller at the French Open 2013 on Sunday.
He notched up a 6-1, 4-6, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 victory against the local star to book a place in the final eight at this major clay court event taking place in Paris, France.
Seeded second at this event, Federer showed his class to overpower the Frenchman in their fifth meeting. As a result, the Swiss extended his lead in the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series by 3-2 against Simon and reached his 36th consecutive quarterfinal
of Grand Slam events. In addition to this, Federer recorded his 900th tour win and became just the fourth player to accomplish the feat.
The Swiss veteran stated in a post match presser, “I knew 900 was on the line. I'm just happy I have been able to win a lot of matches throughout my career, [giving] myself an opportunity over and over again. I love this game. The number is unbelievable.
I probably would have been happy with one at one point in my career, when I was younger. Eventually you raise the bar and say, ‘Okay, hopefully I can reach my first semi-final’, like in 2003 at Wimbledon. I went on to win the tournament and the rest we know.
It's been an amazing run and I'm happy I'm still on it.”
The former world number one, Federer showed his class at the beginning of this battle. After Simon held his serve in the opening game, the Swiss unleashed a flurry of groundstrokes and wiped out six games in a row.
Ranked 18th in the Emirates Airways ATP World Tour Rankings, Simon surprised everyone in the following set. He smoothly held his entire serves and got the breakthrough in the seventh game, subsequently clicking the set with a 6-4 win.
Simon carried his rhythm in the third set. After Federer held his serve in the third game, the local seed went berserk and reeled off five games. As a result, he sealed the set by winning six games to two.
The 17-time Grand Slam champion, Federer regained his strength in the proceeding set. He cashed two break chances to grab the equaliser with a 6-2 victory.
In the deciding set, the Swiss made quick in-roads. He drew the first blood early in the set and cruised to a 3-0 lead. Federer then held his remaining serves with poise and clinched the decider with a 6-3 score line.
The Swiss ace will square off against the top ranked local star, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Federer leads 9-3 in the head-to-head series against the Frenchman.
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