Roger Federer Beats Marin Cilic in 4 Sets, Advances to 3rd Round of 2021 French Open

Roger Federer secured a four-set win over Marin Cilic Thursday to reach the third round of the 2021 French Open.

The Swiss defeated his Croatian opponent 6-2, 2-6, 7-6 (4), 6-2 in just over two-and-a-half hours. He had 16 aces and just one double-fault in the match.

Federer came out of the gate with his serve on point and needed just 30 minutes to finish the first set. 

Things turned on Federer in the second set, though, as Cilic was able to take advantage of some sloppy play. The 39-year-old had his serve broken twice and failed to convert on four break-point chances of his own. 

Federer only had 27 unforced errors in the match, but 10 of them came in the second set. 

Cilic earned seven aces and 20 winners in the third set, converting all three of his net-point chances, but that wasn't enough to clinch it.

Federer was able to keep pace and force a tiebreak, in which his second serve was instrumental in him holding on for a 7-4 win. He won nine of 13 second serves in the set. 

Moving into the fourth set, Federer went back to overpowering Cilic on serve. The 2009 French Open champion hit 74 percent of his first serves in play and won 14 of those 17 points to help secure a comfortable victory. 

The French Open is only Federer's third tournament of the season. This marks the first time he has won at least two matches at an event since the 2020 Australian Open when he lost to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals. 

While there is still a long way to go at Roland-Garros, the early returns from Federer have been promising. He will get back on the court Saturday against Germany's Dominik Koepfer in the third round.