Federer sets another record

PARIS (AP):

Roger Federer set yet another record by reaching the French Open quarter-finals yesterday and Novak Djokovic closed in on a pair of his own.

Federer extended his quarter-final streak at major tournaments to 28 with a 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 victory over Olympic gold medal doubles partner Stanislas Wawrinka.

Shortly after Federer's match on Court Philippe Chatrier, Djokovic maintained his perfect season and stretched his overall winning streak to 43 matches by beating Richard Gasquet of France 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.

Federer and Djokovic could meet in the semi-finals.

Also yesterday, Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova knocked out the highest seeded player remaining in the women's draw, beating number three Vera Zvonareva 7-6 (4), 2-6, 6-2 to earn a spot in the quarter-finals. Defending champion Francesca Schiavone later advanced by defeating number 10 Jelena Jankovic 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.

16-time champ

Federer, a 16-time major champion who completed a career Grand Slam at Roland Garros in 2009, improved on the record he shared with Jimmy Connors on Court Philippe Chatrier. The last time Federer failed to reach the quarter-finals at a major was at the 2004 French Open, when he was the top-seeded player but lost to Gustavo Kuerten in the third round.

Federer again dominated with his serve yesterday. He was broken once early in the third set, but broke back twice to remain one of four players to have won every match in straight sets.

Besides his record 16 major titles, Federer also set a record of 23 straight Grand Slam semi-final appearances. That run ended at last year's French Open, when he was beaten in the quarter-finals.

Federer set his quarter-final streak in 28 consecutive Grand Slam tournaments, while Connors skipped some in his run.

suspended matches

In the next round, Federer will face either number-seven David Ferrer or number-nine Gael Monfils. Their match was sus-pended because of darkness with Monfils leading 6-4, 2-6, 7-5, 0-2.

Djokovic is 41-0 in 2011, including a pair of clay-court final wins over top-ranked Rafael Nadal. If he beats unseeded Fabio Fognini in the quarter-finals, he will match John McEnroe's record for the best start to the season.

With three more wins, Djokovic will equal Guillermo Vilas' overall Open era record of 46 consecutive wins.

The third-seeded Zvonareva followed number one Caroline Wozniacki and number two Kim Clijsters out of the tournament after losing to Pavlyuchenkova, at 19 the youngest player still in the tournament. Wozniacki lost in the third round and Clijsters in the second. Number four Victoria Azarenka of Belarus is now the highest seeded player left.

It is only the third time that none of the top-three seeded women has reached the quarter-finals at a Grand Slam tournament in the Open era, which began in 1968, and the first time at the French Open. It also happened at Wimbledon in 2008 - when the top four were eliminated by the end of the fourth round - and at the Australian Open in 1997.