Roger Federer battles past determined Mahut to reach Roland Garros 4th round

Roger Federer was made to work hard for a four-set victory over Nicolas Mahut in the third round of the French Open.


The 16-time Grand Slam champion coasted through the first set, but was broken in the final game of the second as the Frenchman levelled.


Normal service was resumed in the third set, but Federer was pushed all through the fourth before securing a 6-3 4-6 6-2 7-5 win and a tie with David Goffin.



Federer's 235th career win at the Grand Slams looked likely to be routine when he broke Mahut in the fifth game of the match and closed out the first set.


But Mahut clung on in the second, and, when Federer went wide with a forehand in the final game to gift away a break point, the world number 89 found the line with a backhand return to level the match.


World number three Federer, who has reached 31 consecutive Grand Slam quarter-finals, responded by breaking in the third game of the third set and taking it easily, and he seemed set to close out the win with a break in the seventh game of the fourth.


However, Mahut, most famous for his 2010 defeat by John Isner in the longest Grand Slam match of all time, broke back immediately to extend the set.


It would though, be only a temporary reprieve, as Federer took the third chance to break presented to him in the 11th game, and then served out for the match and a meeting with the unseeded Goffin.


The Belgian 21-year-old initially lost in the qualifiers but was handed a place in the main draw after the withdrawal of Gael Monfils.


With his straight-sets win over Lukasz Kubot, he became the first 'lucky loser' to reach the last 16 of a Grand Slam since fellow Belgian Dick Norman at Wimbledon in 1995.

bbc.co.uk