Mikael Youzhny is into the fourth round after seeing off two-time former champion Juan Carlos Fererro 6-7(3) 7-6(3) 6-2 6-2 in a match that contained some brilliant shot making, particularly from the Russian.

Having dropped the opening set on the tie-break, Youzhny with the aid of a break of serve, had three set points at 5-4, but failed to convert and ended up being broken when he hit a howler of a smash wide from just a couple of feet from the net.

He made no mistake in the ensuing tie-break however; two consecutive aces gave him a 3-0 lead, and levelled the match on his fourth set point when he ripped a forehand drive that beat Ferrero at the baseline for a clean winner.

Buoyed by shouts of "Davai Misha!" from his support camp, Youzhny broke the Spaniard three times in succession to take the third set 6-2 with a run of 5 games, clinching it with a backhand pass.

Things did not improve for Ferrero in the fourth set either when Youzhny broke in the fourth game and held for 4-1. With the 17th seeded Spaniard serving at 2-5, Youzhny won the match on his first match point with a backhand return winner and then gave his customary military salute to all four corners of the court.

The 13^th seeded Russian who will next face world number 1 Roger Federer, a man he has never beaten in 9 attempts, was delighted with his first victory over the former champion.

"It was a tough match; the first time I beat Juan Carlos, and I beat him on clay", he said. "I was serving for the set at 5-4 in the second set, but I lost this game because I made a lot of mistakes. So I understand that if I want to win I have to come back to court and try to play like I did before."

Looking ahead to his match with Federer, Youzhny said: "What I can do? Only one chance to beat these guys sometimes. It's very tough, but sometimes you have bad draws, and sometimes you have good draws; you never know what's going to happen.

"Against Roger it will be much tougher for me, but we'll see."

Andre Jones
Roland Garros
Paris

Listen to an exclusive interview with Youzhny after this match.