Paris: Roger Federer reached the fourth round of the French Open by beating Julien Benneteau of France 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 on Friday. The second-seeded Federer dropped his serve in the first game of the match but broke the 30th-seeded Benneteau four times.
The 17-time Grand Slam champion, who won his only title at Roland Garros in 2009, will play either Gilles Simon or big-serving Sam Querrey. Benneteau, who won the first two sets before losing to Federer in the third round at Wimbledon last year, was hindered by a groin problem and struggled to move freely.
Federer broke straight back to 2-2 when Benneteau double-faulted. In the eighth game, Benneteau winced after reaching for a forehand and squatted down, almost on one knee.
"He beat me at Rotterdam this year and he was incredibly ready at Wimbledon," said Federer, who improved to 5-2 against Benneteau. "But he wasn't in the best of form today, and you could see that he was a bit hindered by the leg problem he's had for the past couple of days."
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