Roger Federer rallies for win, David Ferrer advances at French Open

PARIS, June 2 (UPI) -- Second-seeded Roger Federer needed five sets to gain the quarterfinals and No. 4 David Ferrer also advanced Sunday at the French Open.

Federer found himself trailing 2-sets-to-1 deep into his nearly 3-hour match against Frenchman Gilles Simon but then regrouped for a 6-1, 4-6, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 triumph at Stade Roland Garros, securing his 36th straight Grand Slam quarterfinals berth.

The Swiss superstar now has gotten as far as the Round of 16 in every Grand Slam event he's participated in since the 2004 French Open.

The 17-time major winner claimed seven straight games over the fourth and fifth sets to take control of the hard-fought contest.

Federer's next opponent will be sixth-seeded Frenchman in Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who breezed to a 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 victory over Serbia's Viktor Troicki.

Tsonga sports a 3-9 lifetime mark against Federer, including a five-set loss in January at the Australian Open.

Fourth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer also made it through to the Round of 16 Sunday with a 6-3, 6-1, 6-1 romp over South Africa's Kevin Anderson, while countryman Tommy Robredo outlasted fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro 6-7 (5-7), 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4.

The 32nd-seeded Robredo now goes on to face Ferrer in the quarterfinals.