Federer sets new mark

Roger Federer set a new record of 234 Grand Slam match wins yesterday to reach the French Open last 32 where he was joined by top seed Novak Djokovic whose date with tennis destiny edged a little closer.

Federer, the third seed, overcame a mid-match wobble to beat Romania’s Adrian Ungur 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (6/8), 6-3, and go past Jimmy Connors’s long-standing record of 233 wins at the majors which he’d equalled in the first round.

The 16-time Grand Slam title winner will face either Slovakia’s Martin Klizan or Nicolas Mahut, of France, for a place in the last 16.

The 27-year-old Ungur, the world number 92, knocked out Argentine veteran David Nalbandian in the first round on his Grand Slam debut, having failed to qualify for any major on 13 previous occasions.

He was swept aside on the first two sets yesterday, but once he had saved two match points in the third set tiebreaker, he came alive to take the second round clash to a fourth set.

But normal service was soon resumed with Federer, playing in his 50th straight Grand Slam event, taking the match when the colourfully tattooed Ungur slapped a backhand return wide.

Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open champion Djokovic edged closer to Grand Slam history with a 6-0, 6-4, 6-4 win over Slovenia’s Blaz Kavcic.

The world no.1, bidding to become only the third man after Don Budge and Rod Laver to hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time, put down a gutsy challenge from world number 99 Kavcic.

Djokovic fired 41 winners past the Slovenian, taking victory on a fourth match point, to set up a clash with French qualifier Nicolas Devilder for a place in the last 16.

Argentine ninth seed Juan Martin Del Potro, the only man outside of Djokovic, Federer and Rafael Nadal to have won a major in the last seven years, clinched a 6-7 (5/7), 7-6 (7/3), 6-4, 6-4 win over France’s Edouard Roger Vasselin.

In women’s singles, Victoria Azarenka and Samantha Stosur moved closer to a potential quarter-final showdown with both coasting to straight sets wins in the second round.

Former champions Ana Ivanovic (2008) and Svetlana Kuznetsova (2009) also made it through to the third round, but Venus Williams failed in her bid to keep the family flag flying following sister Serena’s shock defeat late Tuesday.

Top-seeded Azarenka beat German qualifier Dinah Pfizenmaier 6-1, 6-1 while sixth seed Stosur saw off Irina Falconi 6-1, 6-4.

Also looking to put together another strong run at Roland Garros was the 2008 winner Ivanovic, who stormed past Shahar Peer, of Israel, 6-2, 6-2.

Kuznetsova, who succeeded Ivanovic as champion in Paris, ousted Taiwan’s Chan Yung-Jan 6-4, 7-6.

Venus Williams, playing in her 15th Roland Garros, was no match for third seeded Radwanska yesterday, falling 6-2, 6-3 to complete a miserable 24 hours for the Williams family following Serena’s shock upset on Tuesday.