Djokovic-Potro tied at one-set all, match to finish today

Paris: Roger Federer again showed he cannot be discounted for this year’s French Open title with a 6-1, 6-4, 6-3 hammering of 29th seed Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia in the third round. Federer will face Swiss compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka for a place in the quarterfinals. Wawrinka, the 14th seed, recovered from two sets to love down, and was just two points from defeat in a third set tiebreak, before beating 17th-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 4-6, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (5), 6-2, 6-3. [caption id=“attachment_17007” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Can Juan Martin Del Potro (above) halt Novak Djokovic’s winning run? Clive Brunskill/Getty Images”]  [/caption] That four-hour epic forced the clash between second seed Novak Djokovic and former US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro onto Suzanne Lenglen court, but the evenly poised at one set a piece tie will finish today because of its late evening start. Djokovic claimed the first set 6-3 before the big Argentinian snatched the second 6-3 after 96 minutes of fierce big-hitting. However, organisers were under fire for switching the match from the main Philippe Chatrier court, a decision greeted by howls of derision from ticket-holders who then tried to get onto Suzanne Lenglen. Djokovic, on a 41-match winning streak, complained about the noise outside as fans screamed to be allowed into the arena. Wozniacki, Stosur shocked World number one Caroline Wozniacki suffered another Grand Slam nightmare as she was comprehensively beaten 1-6, 3-6 by Slovakian Daniela Hantuchova on Friday. Hantuchova hit 26 winners compared to just eight by Wozniacki, who has constantly faced questions about whether she deserves to be the top-ranked player in the world without shining in the majors. The 20-year-old had a mini-revival midway through the second set but her game fell apart again and she stomped off court immediately as Hantuchova cracked the broadest of smiles. Despite never having won a Grand Slam, Wozniacki will keep her top ranking going into Wimbledon unless third seed Vera Zvonareva wins here and at Eastbourne. “When I was younger, people told me, you’ll never be a top player, you’re from Denmark, we don’t have the mentality. And, you know, it really doesn’t matter. I know what I’m capable of. I know I’m a great player. I’m doing well. I had a loss today. That’s what happens. I’ll be back even better.” [caption id=“attachment_16902” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Caroline Wozniacki crashed out in straight sets. Reuters”]  [/caption] Hantuchova next meets Russia’s 2009 winner Svetlana Kuznetsova in the fourth round. Meanwhile, last year’s runner-up Samantha Stosur of Australia suffered a 4-6, 6-1, 3-6 third round defeat at the hands of Argentinian Gisela Dulko. A year after Jelena Jankovic described Stosur’s forehand as “like a man’s,” Stosur failed to hit her stride as her serve and booming forehand failed to click. It briefly looked like holder Francesca Schiavone would also be shown the exit but the Italian fifth seed recovered from a stuttering start before benefitting from Chinese Peng Shuai’s decision to quit. Peng pulled out apparently feeling dizzy while trailing 3-6, 2-1. With the morning sun playing hide and seek between the threatening clouds, eighth seed Stosur looked on course for victory when Dulko, the world number 51, seemed to be running out of steam in the second set. But Dulko hung on and broke decisively for a 4-2 lead in the third set when a dejected Stosur hit one of her 35 unforced errors. The Argentinian bagged the win on serve with a forehand winner before showing the crowd a towel which had the names of her brother’s newborn twins: “Para Myla y Teo. Valia la pena” (For Myla and Teo. It was worth it)." Meanwhile, Serbian 10th seed Jelena Jankovic had an easy outing against American Bethanie Mattek-Sands, winning the third round clash 6-2, 6-2. Indians at the Open Sania Mirza and her Russian partner Elena Vesnina moved into the third round with a 7-6 (4), 6-3 win over the German-Swiss combine of Kristina Barrois and Johanna Larsson. Later in the day, Rohan Bopanna and his Pakistani partner Aisam-Ul-Haq Qureshi, seeded fifth, rallied from being a set down to beat the Argentinian-Japanese team of Maximo Gonzalez and Kei Nishikori 6-7 (4), 6-3, 6-4 in the second round. Reuters