Federer matches McEnroe's marks
PARIS -- Roger Federer prepared for a long day on court, even though it's been quite a while since he's had one at a major championship.
"I've got enough shirts for five-set matches in the bag," he said. "I only used one today, which was good."
Federer tied the Grand Slam record for most consecutive sets won, taking his streak to 35 by beating No. 13 Mikhail Youzhny, 7-6 (7-3), 6-4, 6-4, yesterday to reach the French Open quarterfinals.
The No. 1-ranked Federer matched another Open-era mark with 11 straight-set Grand Slam victories. John McEnroe set both records in 1984, during Wimbledon and the US Open.
Federer wasn't aware of his accomplishment until asked about it after the match.
"It is something which is quite special, I would say," he said. "But I'm focused on Roland Garros and I want to win my matches. And if I can win in three sets, so much the better -- but I'm not looking for these types of records."
He hasn't lost a set at a major tournament since dropping the second set of last year's US Open final against Andy Roddick.
Federer won the next two sets that day to win that title, then won all seven of his matches at the Australian Open in January in straight sets -- becoming the first man to win a major championship without dropping a set since Bjorn Borg at the 1980 French Open.
Yesterday's result also extended Federer's dominance over Youzhny. Federer improved to 10-0 against the Russian, winning 22 of the 24 sets they've played.
"We both can do almost everything on court. But he [does almost] everything better than me," said Youzhny, a semifinalist at the 2006 US Open. "Maybe, maybe, I will have a chance. Maybe. Maybe no. You never know what happens in the future."
In the quarterfinals, Federer will face No. 9 Tommy Robredo, who beat No. 29 Filippo Volandri, 6-2, 7-5, 6-1.
In other fourth-round men's matches, No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko beat No. 15 David Nalbandian, 6-3, 7-6 (7-1), 3-6, 7-6 (7-2), and No. 19 Guillermo Canas eliminated Juan Monaco, 6-0, 6-4, 6-2.
On the women's side, No. 2 Maria Sharapova beat No. 14 Patty Schnyder, 3-6, 6-4, 9-7. Sharapova saved two match points, was two points from defeat on 11 occasions, and broke when Schnyder served for the match at 5-4, 6-5, and 7-6 in the third set, then again in the closing game.
"Don't count on me giving up," Sharapova said.
As Sharapova started her service motion at 7-7, 30-love, Schnyder tried to call time. Sharapova went ahead and hit -- she said she saw Schnyder's hand after finishing the serve -- and when Schnyder let the ball go by, Sharapova had her first ace of the tournament.
From that moment on, fans jeered and whistled derisively at Sharapova, including when she pumped a fist after winning a point, when she went to the change rackets in the middle of a game, and when the match ended.
Sharapova had no regrets.
"It's tough playing tennis and being Mother Teresa at the same time," said Sharapova, who next meets No. 9 Anna Chakvetadze.
