PARIS (AP)—Defending champion Roger Federer is into the French Open quarterfinals with his fourth consecutive straight-set victory.
The top-ranked Federer beat his pal, protege and 2008 Olympic gold medalist doubles partner Stanislas Wawrinka 6-3, 7-6 (5), 6-2 Sunday.
Federer will next play No. 5-seeded Robin Soderling in a rematch of last year's final. Soderling advanced by beating No. 10 Marin Cilic 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.
No. 11 Mikhail Youzhny earned his first berth in a Roland Garros quarterfinal when No. 8 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga retired with a leg injury trailing 6-2.
Federer only briefly faced a bit of trouble, getting broken in the second set and falling behind 4-2. But he broke back to 4-4. Then, at 5-all in the tiebreaker, the 20th-seeded Wawrinka missed an easy volley, giving Federer a set point. Federer converted that with a service winner, and Wawrinka mangled his racket by smashing it on the court three times.
With one more victory, Federer will reach the semifinals at a 24th straight Grand Slam tournament.