Europe's news in English

COPY LINK

TENNIS

Wawrinka set to play Nadal at French Open

Stanislas Wawrinka is joining fellow Swiss Roger Federer in the quarter-finals of the French Open tennis tournament after defeating Richard Gasquet in a come-from-behind win on Monday.

Published: 3 June 2013 20:49 CEST

Wawrinka set to play Nadal at French Open

Stanislas Wawrinka. Photo: AFP/File

Wawrinka, ranked number nine in the world, lost the first two sets to seventh-ranked Gasquet before recovering to win in five sets.

The 6-7 (5-7),4-6, 6-4, 7-5, 8-6 victory means the 28-year-old Lausanne native will meet defending French Open champion Rafael Nadal on Wednesday.

Nadal celebrated his 27th birthday on Monday by beating Japan’s Kei Nishikori 6-4, 6-1, 6-3.

The Spaniard is aiming to win his eighth French Open title and will pose a difficult challenge for Wawrinka, who earlier this month lost to Nadal in the final of the Madrid Masters. 

Federer, reaching the 36th Grand Slam quarter-finals in his career, is set to take on France’s Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, world number one Novak Djokovic also made it into the quarter-finals after a slow start against Philipp Kohlschreiber.

The 26-year-old Serb lost the first set against the German before rebounding to win the next three sets.

Djokovic will next play another German, Tommy Haas, 35, who became the oldest player to reach the quarter-finals at Roland Garros in more than 40 years.

Member comments

Log in here to leave a comment.

Become a Member to leave a comment.

Is this the end of the road for Swiss tennis legend Roger Federer?

Is it the end of the line for Roger? Photo: Martin BUREAU / AFP

The 20-time Grand Slam winner announced on Wednesday that he would be sidelined until 2021 after his second operation in a matter of months.

Federer remains upbeat, tweeting: “I plan to take the necessary time to be 100 percent ready to play at my highest level.”

In some ways 2020 is a good season to miss after the coronavirus ravaged the tennis schedule. Writing Federer off in the past has proved dangerous.

He returned from a six-month injury lay-off to claim the Australian Open in 2017, winning his eighth Wimbledon crown later that year.

But he will be 40 in 2021 and is now heading into uncharted territory.

Despite his groaning trophy cabinet, there are two factors that will motivate Federer to keep going — the risk of losing his grip on the men's Grand Slam title record and a missing Olympics singles gold medal.

Rafael Nadal has 19 majors, just one shy of Federer's mark and Djokovic has 17.

Spain's Nadal will be fancied to draw level with Federer at the French Open, rescheduled for September, while few would bet against Djokovic winning in New York weeks earlier.

In April, Federer said he was “devastated” when Wimbledon was cancelled for the first time since World War II. Last year he fell agonisingly short at the All England Club, failing to convert two championship points on his own serve against Djokovic.

The Wimbledon grass probably remains his best chance of adding to his Grand Slam collection — he has not won the US Open since 2008 and his only title at Roland Garros came in 2009.

Even though Federer has slipped from the very pinnacle of the game, he is still a major threat to Nadal and Djokovic.

'Golden' ambitions

Last year, the world number four had a 53-10 win-loss record and he reached the semi-finals at the Australian Open in January in his only tournament this year.

Federer, who is still six ATP titles short of Jimmy Connors' all-time record of 109, has one glaring omission from his CV — the Olympic title.

The Swiss won doubles gold in Beijing in 2008 with compatriot Stan Wawrinka but lost in the singles final to Andy Murray in London four years later.

The postponed Tokyo Games will almost certainly be Federer's last opportunity to complete a career “golden” Grand Slam — he will turn 40 on the day of the closing ceremony next year.

Tennis will feel the loss of the elegant Federer keenly when he walks off the court for the last time.

Djokovic and Nadal have been the dominant forces in recent years but the Swiss remains the biggest draw and last month topped Forbes' list of the world's highest-earning athletes.

His last appearance on court was in front of nearly 52,000 fans — touted by organisers as a world record for tennis — at a charity match against Nadal in Cape Town in February.

Federer is nearly always the crowd favourite wherever he plays and has proved a perfect ambassador for the sport since he won his first Grand Slam title in 2003.

He certainly expects to be back and competitive next year.

“I will be missing my fans and the tour dearly but I will look forward to seeing everyone back on tour at the start of the 2021 season,” he tweeted.

The avalanche of support from his adoring fans showed they would miss him too, but they will have to get used to a time when he is gone for good.

Url copied to clipboard!