By Chris Oddo | Wednesday, May 28, 2014

 

Roger Federer became the first male in tennis history to win 60 matches at all four Grand Slams when he eased past Diego Schwartzman, 6-3, 6-4, 6-4, on Wednesday in Paris.

Photo credit: Peter Staples

Roger Federer took down a tricky opponent on Court Suzanne Lenglen to become the first man in tennis history to record 60 or more victories at all four Grand Slams. The 17-time Grand Slam champion's 60th win at Roland Garros, a 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 win over Argentine qualifier Diego Schwartzman, wasn't as straightforward as the scoreline suggests, as Federer struggled with the baseline style of his opponent throughout the affair.

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“I think it was kind of tough all the way through, for me, anyway,” Federer said. “I didn't feel relaxed for the entire match. You know, I've always felt he had a little bit of an upper hand from the baseline. I feel he was doing a really good job being aggressive.”

Though Federer felt challenged, he overcame an early break in the first set to move ahead, then broke in the ninth game of the second set and held for a two sets to love lead.

Federer hit 34 unforced errors against 29 winners on the day, but he was strong on serve, saving one of two break points and hammering nine aces.

“I served well,” Federer said. “That's always the key to stay solid in your own service games.

Federer, who improved his career record at Roland Garros to 60-14, will face Russian Dmitry Tursunov in the next round.

“Tursunov is a different player all together versus Schwartzman today,” Federer said. “He tries more with his serve, but also with the forehand. And also I played against him at Indian Wells. It was 7-6, 7-6, that's how I defeated him. It was a tough match. But at least I know Dmitry, I didn't know Schwartzman at all. I didn't know if he was a great player, average, or not really good. That's why there was pressure on me throughout the match today probably.”

The 32-year-old Federer is 73-11 at the Australian Open, 60-14 at Roland Garros, 67-8 at Wimbledon and 67-9 at the US Open. He improved his 2014 record to 30-6 with the victory, and upped his Grand Slam record to 267-42, which gives him 34 more wins than Jimmy Connors, who is second on the all-time list, and 89 more than Rafael Nadal, the active player who is second on the Grand Slam wins list.