2021 French Open: Roger Federer overcomes Marin Cilic
What's the story
Swiss maestro Roger Federer battled past Marin Cilic in the second round of the 2021 French Open on Thursday. Federer was made to work hard for his victory at Roland Garros. The veteran tennis ace prevailed against Cilic, winning 6-2, 2-6, 7-6, 6-2. Earlier, Novak Djokovic eased past Uruguay's Pablo Cuevas to reach the third round. Here are the details.
Match
Federer gets past Cilic in four sets
Federer breezed past Cilic in the opening set. The second set saw Cilic get more aggressive as he thwarted an unhappy Federer, who received a time violation from the umpire for slow play. The third set saw Federer break Cilic to lead 3-1. However, Cilic fought back and Federer prevailed in the tiebreaker (7-4). Federer broke Cilic in the third set and gained control.
Feats
Federer clinches his 364th win at Slams
Federer has a 72-17 win-loss record at Roland Garros. He has won 364 Grand Slam matches. Federer has the same number of wins as women's singles star Serena Williams. This was also Federer's 1,244th win in career singles matches. This was the 11th career head-to-head meeting between Federer and Cilic. Federer has taken a 10-1 lead. It was his fifth successive win against Cilic.
Information
Notable stats of Federer in the tie
Federer served 16 aces and had just one double fault compared to Cilic's six. Federer had a better win percentage on the second serve. He also converted five of the 16 breakpoints. Federer won 126 points and, besides winning 21 games.
Djokovic
Djokovic advances to the third round
World number one Djokovic eased past Cuevas in the second round of the 2021 French Open. The Serbian maestro claimed another straight-set victory, having beaten the latter 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in over two hours. Djokovic, who is now 21-3 in the season, had earlier triumphed over Tennys Sandgren 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 in his opening round.