French Open: Roger Federer joins Nadal in third round

TIL Desk Sports/ Tennis legends Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer moved a step further towards their potential semi-final clash in men’s singles, while fourth-seeded Kiki Bertens had to retire from women’s singles second round, citing illness. Federer notched a comfortable victory, as the 20-time Grand Slam winner beat another German player Oscar Otte 6-4, 6-3, 6-4 on Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, Nadal eased past Germany’s Yannick Maden 6-1, 6-2, 6-4, setting up a third round clash with No. 27 seed David Goffin. “In the third set, I lost a little bit concentration and intensity. Then all the match became difficult,” Nadal told a press conference. “The positive thing is every time that I had the mistake, then I had the break again, and that’s good news.”

Greek sixth-seeded talent Stefanos Tsitsipas and No. 7 seed Kei Nishikori of Japan had to recover from one set down to overcome their respective opponents for the third round. Grigor Dimitrov underwent a five-set thriller to see off 11th-seeded Marin Cilic 6-7 (3), 6-4, 4-6, 7-6 (2), 6-3.