“I hope it’s going to go my way this time,” Federer said. “All in all, I’m very happy with the way I’m playing.”
Federer’s opponent Wednesday will be No. 24 Fernando Gonzalez, who ended American Robby Ginepri’s surprising run at Roland Garros, 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-1. Ginepri was the last American in either singles draw.
No. 5 David Ferrer improved to 8-1 in five-set matches by beating No. 21 Radek Stepanek 4-6, 6-2, 1-6, 6-3, 6-3. Ferrer next plays unseeded Frenchman Gael Monfils, who defeated No. 28 Ivan Ljubicic 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
Federer was broken serving for each of the first two sets, but recovered to close them out, finishing the second set in steady rain that prompted a 90-minute interruption before the third set. He reached the final eight for the 16th Grand Slam in a row.
“Obviously I’m the favorite in this section, so I hope I can make it through to the final,” Federer said. “But I’m not there yet, so I have to be very careful with Gonzalez. ... He was born on clay, more or less.”
The Chilean is 16-0 this year on clay, although he withdrew before the third round in Rome because of a hamstring injury.
Ginepri hung with Gonzalez until losing serve twice in a row late in the second set. Ginepri’s consolation: He was the first U.S. man to reach the fourth round at Roland Garros since Andre Agassi in 2003.
“A disappointing performance on my part today, to not have my A game when I really expected it to be there,” Ginepri said. “At the same time, it was great last week and great tournament. I’ll probably be a little bit more happy tomorrow, but at the moment I’m a little discouraged with the way it went today.”
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