Paris - Roger Federer survived an early niggle before bearing down in windy conditions to dispatch Paul-Henri Mathieu 4-6, 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 for a place in the fourth round of the French Open Saturday. The Swiss second seed lost his way in the opening set against the number 35 whom he has beaten three times without a loss. But Mathieu didn't roll over in front of his home public, losing the second and third sets but clawing a break back from the Swiss in the fourth.
He also forced Federer to a second match point, which the 13-time Grand Slam champion took with an inside-out forehand winner after more than two and a half hours.
The winner fired 11 aces and broke five times.
German Philipp Kohlschreiber stunned Novak Djokovic, sending the Serb to a 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 after the fourth seed had played the clay season of his life in recent months.
Djokovic, a semi-finalist at the last two editions and 2008 Australian Open winner, was outplayed from the start by the hard-hitting German ranked 31st.
"I'm obviously disappointed a lot with the way I was performing today," said the Belgrade champion and losing finalist to Rafael Nadal in Monte Carlo and Rome. "More or less, I lost the match, I couldn't find the rhythm throughout the whole match.
"I was trying not to be frustrated with a lot of unforced errors. I tried to be positive and just wait for the chances - but he didn't give me.
"But yet again, I didn't work for those chances. This is the problem. I played too passive, and he played really solid from all the strokes. So congratulations to him, of course."
Kohlschreiber was pleased with his upset scenario.
"I played really, really one of the best match I ever played in a big tournament," said the German whose previous Paris best was the second round. "It came together and maybe Novak didn't play his best today.
"But from my point of view, I played a good match. I was a lot of times controlling or dictating many, many points."
Kohlschreiber becomes the second German in the last 16 after Tommy Haas beat Jeremy Chardy of7-5, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4.
Argentine fifth seed Juan Del Potro continued to make his way quietly through the draw, crushing Igor Andreev 6-4, 7-5, 6-4.
Surprising sixth seed Andy Roddick bolted into the second week for the first time in his career, defeating Marc Gicquel 6-1, 6-4, 6-4 with a third successive victory in straight sets.
The American who had never made an impression on the red dirt has been in superb touch as he takes on French 11th seed Gael Monfils, a winner over Austrian Jurgen Melzer 6-2, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1.
"I think I like my chances maybe more than the other years," said Roddick. "It is what it is. It feels nice, but, you know, there's certainly some more work to be done."
The 26-year-old missed last year's edition with a shoulder injury after first-round losses in 2006 and 2007.
Women's second seed Serena Williams fought through in controversy, accusing beaten Spanish opponent Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez of "cheating" in a 4-6, 6-3, 6-4 defeat by taking a break point on a ball which the American insisted hit the Spaniard's arm instead of her racket.
"So the ball hit her body, and therefore, she should have lost the point instead of cheating. "I hit that ball rather hard. She knew that ball hit her."
Retorted Martinez Sanchez: "I just put my racket up (in defense) and the ball hit it," said the 26-year-old ranked 43rd, who denied the ball hit her body - a breach of the rules and an automatic point for the opponent. "I don't want to talk about this.
Australian Samantha Stosur shocked off-form Russian fourth seed Elena Dementieva 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 to march into the fourth round.
"I just think I have grown in confidence this year," said the winner. "I have had a lot of tight matches that some I have won and some I have lost.
"But nearly every match I have played I have been right in it."
Fifth seed Jelena Jankovic hammered Jarmila Groth of Australia 6-1, 6-1 in a power display.
Seventh seed Svetlana Kuznetsova stretched this spring's run of form with a defeat of Hungarian Melinda Czink 6-1, 6-3.
Victoria Azarenka, the number nine, beat Carla Suarez Navarro of Spain, 5-7, 7-5, 6-2 and Polish 12th seed Agnieszka Radwanska stopped Kateryna Bondarenko 6-2, 6-4.
