Roger Federer makes 'dangerous' Stan Wawrinka judgement ahead of French Open quarter-final

Federer booked his place in the last eight with a classy 6-2 6-3 6-3 win over Leonardo Mayer.

Back on Court Philippe Chatrier, the 2009 champion turned on the style as he displayed his full repertoire in a ruthless performance.

And the 37-year-old will now face his fellow Swiss Wawrinka for a spot in the semi-finals, where the winner could face Rafael Nadal.

Four years ago, the last time Federer played at the French Open, he was beaten by Wawrinka in comfortable fashion in the quarters.

And when asked about the upcoming rematch, Federer said he is well aware of the threat Wawrinka poses to him.

“On clay, it’s been definitely more dangerous than on any other surface for me against him,” Federer said.

“I hope he’s not at the level of ’15, but we’ll find out, because there he was crushing the ball.

“It was unbelievable.”

After three years not playing clay court tennis, Federer had few expectations going into the French Open and the 37-year-old explained he had thoughts about a possible early exit from the tournament.

“I am a normal guy, and I have to know what is the worst-case scenario,” said Federer.

“I have to plan both ways always. You need to be brutally honest with yourself sometimes.

“To some extent the unknown on the clay here was still high, so losing first round in straight sets was a scenario, as for any match I played in the last 20 years.

“But I’m ready for the battle, and I’m here to fight. I’m not going to go without trying. Of course the hope was to go deep, and I’m in the quarters now, so I’m very, very happy at this point.”

source: express.co.uk