Federer would topple Dzumhur 6-4, 6-3, 6-2 to advance to the Round of 16 at Roland Garros for an 11th straight year..

What is it like to step on the court with your tennis idol? For 23-year-old Damir Dzumhur, Roger Federer’s third-round opponent on Friday in Paris, it was out of this world.

“I was warming up, and I was still not believing that I'm playing Roger Federer,” he said. “Really, it was a strange feeling, like I'm dreaming. But then suddenly I switched when I started to play.”

Federer, too, vividly remembers what it was like to compete against Pete Sampras in their fourth-round Wimbledon epic in 2001.

The Swiss was just 19 years old.


The Swiss was tested at times by the 23-year-old Dzumhur, but came through unscathed to set a clash with Gael Monfils.