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Follow Me on TwitterRob Soria is the Edmonton Oilers' correspondent for OurHometown.ca. Rob was born and raised in Edmonton and is the author of the Edmonton Oilers blog - OilDrop.ca. He has been a dedicated follower of the game and its history for years but his focus remains on his hometown Edmonton Oilers. If you have questions or wish to contact Rob, you can email him at rsoria@ourhometown.ca
French Open: Day Six - Djokovic and Federer are off to the round of sixteen
Rob Soria
OurHometown.ca

French Open: Day Six - Djokovic and Federer are off to the round of sixteen
With the first week of play at the 2012 French Open nearly completed, the top nine seeds are all still alive on Men's side of the draw. Both world number one Novak Djokovic and former number one Roger Federer, continued to breeze through opponents. While Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, seventh seed Tomas Berdych and Juan Martin Del Potro also joined the two favourites in the round of sixteen.
PHOTO CREDIT - GettyImages.com

Edmonton - June 2, 2012 - With the first week of play at the 2012 French Open nearly completed, the top nine seeds are all still alive on Men's side of the draw. Both world number one Novak Djokovic and former number one Roger Federer, continued to breeze through opponents. While Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, seventh seed Tomas Berdych and Juan Martin Del Potro also joined the two favourites in the round of sixteen.

Djokovic continued to improve his play with each outing, this time taking just over ninety minutes in defeating qualifier Nicolas Devilder 6-1, 6-2, 6-2. The number one seed lost only fifty-five points for the entire match, breaking Devilder serve on seven separate occasions. The Serb has had little trouble through the opening three rounds and will face Andreas Seppi in the fourth round, after the Italian upset fourteenth seed Fernando Verdasco 7-5, 3-6, 6-3, 4-6, 6-2.

The number three ranked Federer had a slightly more difficult time knocking off Nicolas Mahut, dropping a set for the second consecutive match, in winning 6-3, 4-6, 6-2, 7-5. The Swiss master had fifty-four winners on the day but served under sixty percent for the match, something that will have to change if he plans on reaching another final at Roland Garros. Last year's finalist will face Belgian qualifier David Goffin who bounced the twenty-third ranked Radek Stepanek in the opening round.

Berdych survived a major scare in round three, having to comeback from being down two sets to one and barely getting past South African Kevin Anderson 6-3, 3-6, 6-7, 6-4, 6-4. With the win, the talented Czech will now have the task of taking on Juan Martin Del Potro, in what should be the most intriguing match-up in the round of sixteen. Del Potro made quick work of Croatian Marin Cilic, wining in straight sets 6-3, 7-6, 6-1. The victory marked the first time the Argentine has managed to advanced in straight sets at this year's event. With Berdych as his next opponent, Juan Martin will have to be in top form to knock off the talented Czech.

Which brings us to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. Playing for the third consecutive day, the crowd favourite played his most complete match of the tournament. Tsonga needed just under two and half hours to eliminate Fabio Fognini 7-5, 6-4, 6-4. The big Frenchman has been inconsistent all tournament long, did catch a big break last night. Fellow countryman and eleventh seed Gilles Simon was upset by Switzerland's Stan Wawrinka 7-5, 6-7, 6-7, 6-3, 6-2. Leaving Tsonga a potentially easier route to the quarter finals and a date with Djokovic.

Day Seven will see the second day of action in round number three, featuring the likes of Rafa Nadal, Andy Murray, David Ferrer and nineteenth seed Milos Raonic. The most compelling match of the day, looks to be the hard hitting Canadian taking on thirteenth seed and clay court specialist, Juan Monaco. If Raonic can pull off the victory against the Argentine, a date with Nadal in the round of sixteen, would be awaiting the youngster.


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