A pair of former champions with 38 majors between them, two show courts, one outcome. Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer overcame contrasting challenges at Roland Garros to move a step closer to a projected quarter-final meeting, the Serb rallying his way past Pablo Cuevas 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 on Court Suzanne Lenglen as the Swiss passed a sterner examination against Marin Cilic 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (7-4), 6-2 on Chatrier.
In scheduling the pair simultaneously, it was almost as though the organisers were intentionally highlighting the lopsided nature of a draw that lumps Djokovic, Federer and Rafael Nadal together in the same half for the first time. Intriguing as the possibilities are, however, the experienced trio are unlikely to dwelling on them. On another warm Parisian afternoon, no one was of a mind to get ahead of themselves.
The greater difficulty appeared to lie in not getting hot under the collar. While Djokovic had a testy third-set exchange with a heckler – “Every single serve, it’s the same guy!” he cried at one point – Federer was drawn into a lengthy discussion with the chair umpire, Emmanuel Joseph, after receiving a time violation for what Cilic felt was slow play.
“I was a bit surprised and shocked that it happened, I didn’t even understand what was going on for the most part,” Federer later told Eurosport. “I realised Marin actually was upset at me that I was going too slow because he once even served at me when I was not in position. I didn’t even see it, I just saw a ball coming over and I thought he was working on his serve because I thought maybe he was not happy with his second serve.
“Honestly, with the towels being on either side, I’m a bit confused about how I’m supposed to do it. I know you have to play after the server’s pace, but I was questioning maybe a little bit maybe was it Marin also pushing me to play extremely fast, or was I just extremely slow? I’m not sure, I have to maybe see it again.
“I’m sorry if I did it, but I just really wanted a proper explanation. I told the umpire why didn’t he tell me that I was going slow? And he told me: ‘Well I assumed you knew, because of Marin serving to you’. I didn’t see it, so that was my bad.”
In between the verbal pyrotechnics, both players produced some fine tennis.
Djokovic quickly became embroiled in a classic dirt-baller contest full of carefully constructed rallies and teasing drop shots. Cuevas, who has been ranked as high as 19th in the world, knows his way around a clay court. Each of the 35-year-old’s six career titles have come on the red dirt, and 13 years ago he won the men’s doubles at Roland Garros. He was not slow to show his pedigree.
In the third game, Cuevas outfoxed Djokovic with a nonchalant flicked forehand that seemed to unsettle the Serb. A succession of unforced errors followed, Cuevas breaking to 15. Sparked into life, Djokovic immediately hit back with a love break and it was not long before the Uruguayan found himself in trouble again. At 3-4, he saved two break points with a backhand winner and a deftly angled winner, only for an error at deuce to set up a third. This time Djokovic converted with aplomb, firing a forehand winner. He would serve for the set.
Federer was similarly quick to put a testing start behind him. Caught cold in his opening service game by some fine Cilic returning, the Swiss was forced to fend off a break point. But when the Croatian double-faulted at 30-30 in the next game before netting a forehand, Federer was away. He raced to a 5-2 lead and completed the set with a trademark one-minute hold.
Djokovic took a more circuitous path to claiming the opener. Faced by a 0-40 deficit after a Cuevas winner and a couple of missed forehands, he hit back with some forceful serving before securing the set with an ace. An early break in the second put the Serb in control, however, and though Cuevas continued to offer dogged resistance, he was soon contemplating a two-set deficit.
Meanwhile, with the clock nearing the hour mark on Chatrier and Cilic serving at deuce with a 3-1 second set lead, Federer began his lengthy debate with the umpire. Having been broken in the second game, the Swiss had just received a warning for slow play as he towelled himself down after missing two break points.
Getting nowhere with Joseph, Federer turned to Cilic and asked: “Marin, am I playing too slow?” Cilic politely confirmed that he was not, but emphasised the rule that says the receiver must play at the server’s pace, adding that Federer had taken a little too long “on a few occasions”.
Federer replied that he had simply been retrieving his towel and had not dallied on purpose, but the exchange seemed to fire up both men. Of the two, it was the Croatian who initially seemed to harness his anger more effectively. Cilic, whose interminable ball-bouncing later earned him a warning of his own, served out the game and clung on to seal the set.
There were no such problems for Djokovic, who broke early in the third set and emitted a triumphal roar after fending off two break points to move 2-0 ahead. It was a moment that threatened to shatter the Uruguayan’s resolve once and for all, yet Cuevas held firm. At 2-1 down, he carved out another break point opportunity, sliding in to put away a Djokovic drop shot. An 11-minute game ensued, but the top seed was not to be denied. At 5-4, an ace concluded the win.
“I stayed concentrated,” said Djokovic, who will face the 93rd-ranked Lithuanian Ricardas Berankis next. “I thought the third set was very difficult for me because he lifted the level of his game. It’s a cliche to say ‘day by day’, but it’s very important for me to stay in the moment.”
Djokovic’s victory meant the gauntlet had been thrown. Could Federer match his great rival? As the Cilic serve began to falter, allowing the Swiss to break for 3-1, it certainly appeared so. But a chance to secure a double break eluded Federer, who slammed a sitter long at 0-40 on the Cilic serve, and the Croatian seized the proffered lifeline. Reeling off a succession of love holds, he got back on level terms to force a tiebreak. From there, though, Federer went through the gears to set up a third-round meeting with Germany’s Dominik Koepfer.
Elsewhere, Britain’s Cameron Norrie recovered from an early setback to beat Lloyd Harris of South Africa 4-6, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2. He will face the winner of Thursday night’s match between Nadal and Richard Gasquet.