Federer beats Wawrinka to reach French QFs

Paris: Defending champion Roger Federer is into the French Open quarterfinals with his fourth consecutive straight-set victory.

The top-ranked Federer beat his pal, protege and 2008 Olympic gold medalist doubles partner Stanislas Wawrinka 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-2 on Sunday.

Federer only briefly faced a bit of trouble, getting broken in the second set and falling behind 4-2. But he broke back to 4-4. Then, at 5-all in the tiebreaker, the 20th-seeded Wawrinka missed an easy volley, giving Federer a set point. Federer converted that with a service winner, and Wawrinka mangled his racket by smashing it on the court three times.

With one more victory, Federer will reach the semifinals at a 24th straight Grand Slam tournament.