Roger Federer Survives Upset Bid From Dominik Koepfer to Advance At 2021 French Open

Roger Federer advanced to the French Open round of 16 Saturday with a 7-6 (5), 6-7 (3), 7-6 (4), 7-5 win over Dominik Koepfer on Court Philippe-Chatrier in Paris. 

The No. 8 seed will try to continue his comeback tour with a fourth-round battle against No. 9 Matteo Berrettini.

After starting his run at Roland Garros with wins over familiar foes in Denis Istomin and Marin Cilic, Federer was facing Koepfer for the first time in his career. It took three hours and 35 minutes with three different tiebreaks, but the veteran advanced thanks in part to his 48-of-67 (72 percent) showing at the net. 

Koepfer was excited about the possibility of facing an all-time great earlier in the tournament.

"I don't just want to play him; I want to give him a battle and maybe come out with a win somehow," the 27-year-old said of Federer, per ATPWorldTour.com.

It was certainly a battle with every set coming down to the wire.

The first set featured zero breaks, but Federer survived thanks to some incredible shots:

Federer had his issues in the second set with 20 unforced errors and just 11 winners, but the two competitors remained locked in a tight battle with two more tiebreaks over the next two sets.

Koepfer took the second-set tiebreak but Federer responded in the third with a tight win to pull in front.

The 39-year-old favorite finally closed out the match in the fourth set, getting a key break in the 11th game after it was even 5-5. A hold in the next game was enough to secure the victory.

Despite just a 160-159 advantage in total points, Federer came through in important moments to help him advance.

Federer only has one appearance at Roland Garros since 2015, but he reached the semifinals that time in 2019 and remains on track for a strong showing this time around as well.