French Open 2013: Day 8 round-up - Men's singles

Two superb five-setters on Sunday at Roland Garros as the old guard of men’s tennis mounted spirited fightbacks to come from behind and snatch victory were the highlights of Day 8 of the French Open.

#2 Roger Federer (Switzerland) beat #15 Gilles Simon (France) 6-1 3-6 2-6 6-2 6-3

PARIS, FRANCE – JUNE 02: Roger Federer of Switzerland shakes hands with Gilles Simon of France after their Men’s Singles match during day eight of the French Open at Roland Garros

For a set-and-a-half, Roger Federer was in impeccable form. Gliding around the court, playing some free-flowing tennis on both wings, he was giving Simon all sorts of problems. He had won the first set 6-1 in no time, being utterly dominant. It also included perhaps the shot of the tournament so far, as he hit a running forehand down the line around the net, much to the delight of the crowd.

He was threatening to break again at 3-2 in the second. Then came the stumble; while chasing a backhand, Federer got his toe caught in the clay and fell over. The fall looked innocuous at the time, but following that, Simon would go on to dominate the match for the next hour of the contest.

The fall looked to have disconcerted the Swiss, as Federer served up a double-fault in his next service game and got broken as he began spraying his shots everywhere. That period of play saw Simon win 15 out of 20 points, putting him firmly in the driver’s seat as he levelled the game at a set apiece. Federer had 17 unforced errors in the second set, as compared to 13 in the first.

The drop in Federer’s play coincided with Simon improving his game. He was generating more pace behind his shot and was looking more aggressive. It helped push Federer back and draw more errors, preventing the Swiss from dictating the game. An out-of-sorts Federer continued to struggle and the Frenchman, with the raucous home support egging him on, soon took a two-sets-to-one lead, breaking Federer’s serve twice in the third set.

The response was to come in the fourth set. Federer threw in a flurry of drop shots while also looking to finish the points extremely quickly with outright winners in an attempt to upset the Frenchman’s rhythm. And the second seed upped the ante to break Simon in the fifth game to take a 3-2 lead. That would be the beginning of a seven-game streak for Federer, as he closed out the fourth set with another break and took an early break in the fifth to lead 3-0. Federer also made a slight tactical switch, hitting the backhand crosscourt a whole lot more to the Simon backhand as against going up the line, which the Frenchman was neutralizing with his forehand. Simon was the one who was now looking anxious, making many more unforced errors.

A marathon fourth game on the Simon serve lasted over 15 minutes as Federer threatened to blow the decider open with a decisive second break. Simon, though, stood firm and battled away to salvage the game and get on the board in the set. The single break proved enough in the end for Federer. He endured a nervy game when he stepped up to serve for the match at 5-3, dumping an easy backhand volley into the net and sending a forehand long. However, his serve came to his aid with three out of his nine aces coming at the most critical juncture of the game. Simon’s backhand down the line sailed wide on match point as Federer emerged from the brink to clinch victory on his first match point.

#4 David Ferrer (Spain) beat (23) Kevin Anderson (South Africa) 6-3 6-1 6-1

A dominant performance from Spain’s no. 4 seed saw him reach the quarter-finals. He did not let Kevin Anderson dominate with the serve, as he applied some serious pressure on the South African’s service games. He fashioned a truckload of break-point opportunities and was +17(28-11) in winners-unforced errors differential.