Federer in last 16 in record time

PARIS: Second seed Roger Federer reached the French Open last 16 on Friday with a 6-3, 6-4, 7-5 win over France's 30th seed Julien Benneteau to mark his best start to the tournament in his career.
As well as racking up his 57th win at the tournament -- just one behind the record of 58 held by Guillermo Vilas and Nicola Pietrangeli -- the 31-year-old has also come through three rounds in record time.

He has dropped just 23 games in three rounds compared to 24 in 2007 and 27 in 2010.

Federer, the 2009 champion, next faces either Sam Querrey of the United States or Gilles Simon of France for a quarter-final place. (AFP)