• French Open, Day Four

Federer shrugs off slow start to conquer Falla

Roger Federer is the defending champion at Roland Garros © Getty Images

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Women's round-up: Day four
Day four gallery

Defending champion Roger Federer was forced to shake off a stuttering start against Alejandro Falla in order to seal a place in the third round of the French Open.

The world No. 1 looked out of sorts during the first set, but he improved markedly as the match progressed during his rain-interrupted 7-6 6-2 6-4 triumph.

It has not been a stellar year on clay for Federer so far - he has lost three of nine matches - but he played with fluency as he brushed aside Peter Luczak in his opening encounter.

His second-round tie, against an opponent he had beaten in straight sets in each of their previous meetings, threatened to be similarly straightforward. Falla did not look overawed, however, as he caused Federer problems during a tight first set.

Federer eventually claimed it on a tie-break, but not before his opponent had thrown away the opportunity to serve for the set at 5-4 up. After being given a wake-up call by that lucky escape, Federer belatedly forced his game into gear during the second set.

He claimed it with two breaks as his lethal forehand smeared the ball to all corners - although his first serve was occasionally off-colour. A rain interruption offered Falla some respite before the final set began, but the deluge did nothing to disrupt Federer's rhythm as he moved onward in the tournament. He will next face the winner of the match between Oliver Rochus and Julian Reister.

Jo-Wilfried Tsonga powered his way through © Getty Images

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No. 5 seed Robin Soderling, the only man to have beaten Rafael Nadal at the tournament, was barely tested during his completely one-sided 6-0 6-1 6-1 victory over Taylor Dent. It was an abject performance from Dent, who showed a bewildering reluctance to do anything other than play timid slices from the baseline.

After barely 40 minutes had elapsed, Dent found himself two sets behind and looking totally uncomfortable on a surface that has not been kind to him in the past. Unsurprisingly, Soderling closed out the win to set up a third-round clash against No. 29 seed Albert Montanes.

"I'd be a fool to say that I felt like I was in it at any stage," Dent said. It would be tough for me to beat the 12-and-under French champion playing that way."

After battling through a gruelling five-setter in the first round, Jo Wilfried-Tsonga will be relieved to have moved past Josselin Ouanna with a minimum of fuss. Home favourite Tsonga is a mercurial player, but he can be a match for anyone on his good days - and this was one of those. The No. 8 seed hit 41 winners on his way to a 6-0 6-1 6-4 triumph, which sets up a clash against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez or Thiemo De Bakker.

No. 10 seed Marin Cilic has never been past the fourth round at the French Open, but he should comfortably surpass that mark if he continues to display the ruthless side to his game - he did not allow opponent Daniel Gimeno-Traver a break of serve during a comfortable 6-3 7-6 6-2 triumph. He will next play Leonardo Mayer, conqueror of Julien Benneteau.

Mikhail Youzhny avoided a shock exit after he recovered from an early setback against Lukas Lacko to win 6-7 6-3 6-3 6-2. After making a glut of unforced errors, No. 11 seed Youzhny had his robust serve to thank for edging him past a plucky opponent, and onto a battle against Viktor Troicki.

Gael Monfils was two sets and a break up, but let Fabio Fognini back into the match. As the darkness decended on Court Philippe Chatrier, the match official discussed suspending the match at 4-4 in the final set. Andy Murray's match against Juan Ignacio Chela had already been stopped but play continued in the near darkness. Finally, play was called off at 5-5 in the final set.

The matches between Marcel Granollers and Marcos Baghdatis and John Isner and Marco Chiudinelli will resume on Thursday. Baghdatis leads two sets to one, while Isner lost the first set 7-5 with play suspended at 5-5 in the second.

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