Federer carries on regardless

TENNIS: Roger Federer came through his third-round match against Spain's Carlos Moya yesterday with a great deal more simplicity…

TENNIS: Roger Federer came through his third-round match against Spain's Carlos Moya yesterday with a great deal more simplicity than even he could have imagined before the contest.

Barely breaking sweat against his injured opponent, the Swiss number one has yet to drop a set at this year's tournament.

Last year he won Wimbledon after losing just one set and if he were to go on and win the French Open without conceding a set, he would be the first to do so since Bjorn Borg in 1980.

Moya, however, was unable to play at full pace and required physiotherapy to his right shoulder during the match. He was restricted when serving and hitting his forehand and, for the latter half of the match, he simply was not engaging the world number one.

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"I noticed straight away that he had a problem. I still had to remain focused, so I was thinking about my own match," said Federer. "He couldn't play 100 per cent. It was very obvious to me. So it is very hard to say just how well I played. It's not possible because I knew what sort of pain he was in."

Federer won the match 6-1, 6-4, 6-3.

More than just the tennis of Rafael Nadal was tested in yesterday's other big match. The 18-year-old Spaniard, who is now seen as the biggest threat to favourite Federer, also faced a hostile crowd during his tie against French hope Sebastien Grosjean.

Having won the first set 6-4, Nadal had just broken Grosjean in the first game of the second with a disputed call. Grosjean contended that Nadal's return had landed outside the baseline but Argentine umpire Damian Steiner refused to leave his chair to inspect the mark.

The refusal drew the ire of the Court Philippe Chatrier spectators, who jeered and whistled for several minutes, preventing Nadal from serving. Anxious officials looked on but there was little they could do as the crowd had evidently decided that they were going to cause disruption.

Eventually Nadal reluctantly restarted play despite the cacophony but went on to lose his serve as the crowd roundly cheered every point lost.

The incident was more than discourteous and heavily favoured Grosjean, who appeared happy enough. A shrug of the shoulders was his only contribution despite being the player who started the argument in the first place. Indeed Grosjean continued to use the crowd. Against an 18-year-old in his debut at Roland Garros, the Frenchman's thoughts were probably that it might unsettle the teenager, who is physically stronger than Grosjean.

Grosjean fed off that second set disruption and, as the rain started falling more heavily, he took the second set 6-3. Still, Nadal regrouped and quickly sped to a 3-0 lead in the third set before Grosjean accepted another little bit of fortune as the skies opened and play was suspended for the night.

Federer's win takes him into a quarter-final against Romania's Victor Hanescu, who defeated David Nalbandian after a five-set match. This is as far as Hanescu has ever advanced in a Grand Slam event.

Johnny Watterson

Johnny Watterson

Johnny Watterson is a sports writer with The Irish Times