French Open 2019, men's singles round-up: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal breeze into quarters; Stan Wawrinka bests Stefanos Tsitsipas in marathon five-setter

Stan Wawrinka gets the better of Stefanos Tsitsipas in mammoth five-setter Stan Wawrinka edged Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-6 (6), 5-7, 6-4, 3-6, 8-6 after 5 hours, 9 minutes to reach the quarter-finals at a Grand Slam tournament for the first time in two years. The 24th-seeded Wawrinka saved 22 of 27 break points, including 8 of 8 in the fifth set, against No. 6 seed Tsitsipas. [caption id=“attachment_6744231” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Switzerland’s Stan Wawrinka in action during his fourth round match against Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas. Reuters[/caption] Wawrinka won the 2015 French Open for one of his three career major titles and was the runner-up in 2017. But he hadn’t been past the fourth round at a Slam since, in part because he missed time after knee surgery. He is 34, 14 years older than Tsitsipas. Next for Wawrinka is a matchup with his friend and countryman, Roger Federer, who owns 20 Grand Slam titles. Federer leads their head-to-head series 22-3, but Wawrinka won the last time they faced each other in Paris, in the 2015 quarter-finals. Rafael Nadal ends Juan Ignacio Londero’s dream debut Rafael Nadal ended the dream run of French Open debutant Juan Ignacio Londero with a typically dominant 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 victory on Sunday to power into the quarter-finals. In hot and breezy conditions, the Spaniard looked once again produced claycourt tennis of the highest quality to make the last eight of a Grand Slam event for the 38th time. [caption id=“attachment_6744211” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Spain’s Rafael Nadal in action during his fourth-round match against Argentina’s Juan Ignacio Londero. Reuters[/caption] The tone was set when he broke the 25-year-old Londero’s serve in the second game of the Court Philippe Chatrier duel and while his 78th-ranked opponent never threw in the towel he could only try to delay the inevitable. Londero had a break point early in the third set but Nadal stamped out that danger and broke in the very next game to close in on victory. With his eyes fixed firmly on claiming a 12th French Open title next Sunday he seemed eager to finish the job swiftly, but after moving 4-1 ahead in the third set he dropped serve for the first time in the match. Nadal’s pace appeared to drop ever so slightly and Londero even sensed another break two games later when heavy hitting got him to 0-30 on the second seed’s serve, but Nadal reeled off four consecutive points, holding with an ace. He finished the match with a signature forehand to set up a clash with Kei Nishikori or Benoit Paire. Roger Federer continues dominant march through tournament Roger Federer’s return to French Open clay is going so smoothly he still has not dropped a set in reaching the quarter-finals. The 20-time Grand Slam winner eased through with a 6-2, 6-3, 6-3 win Sunday against unseeded Argentine Leonardo Mayer. [caption id=“attachment_6743981” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Switzerland’s Roger Federer in action during his French Open fourth-round match against Argentina’s Leonardo Mayer. Reuters[/caption] With temperatures reaching 88 Fahrenheit (31 Celsius) on a sun-soaked center court, the third-seeded Federer did not face a break point in beating Mayer for the fourth time in four meetings. Federer won his only French Open in 2009 and remains on course for a semi-final showdown with Rafael Nadal, the defending champion at Roland Garros. After dropping his serve to lose the second set, Mayer angrily swiped the ball away and was given a code violation warning for ball abuse. Federer was looking so clinical and assured that the crowd at Philippe Chatrier groaned in disbelief when he missed an easy-looking forehand volley at the net, early in the third set. It was the second time Federer has beaten Mayer at a Grand Slam — the other also coming in straight sets, in the first round of the US Open in 2015. That was also the last year Federer played at Roland Garros, before skipping clay entirely until returning to the surface this year. Four years ago, Federer lost in the quarter-finals to Swiss countryman Stan Wawrinka in straight sets. _**Click here to read the latest updates from the women's singles round-up.**_ With inputs from Agencies.