Roger Federer beats Gaël Monfils in Madrid and claims 1,200th win
• Federer saves match points and wins 6-1, 4-6, 7-6 (3)
• Novak Djokovic eases to 6-1, 7-6 (2) victory against Chardy
Roger Federer, as only he would dare to do, serve-volleyed on second serve to save one of two match points and then went on to claim the 1,200th win of his career but there were moments here at the Madrid Open when the intangible magic of Gaël Monfils threatened to ruin his return to clay after an absence of nearly three years.
Federer losing a tennis match once had the bar-emptying resonance of “Bradman Out” on newspaper posters outside cricket grounds many decades ago, and, while the days of preordained dominance might be dwindling for the Swiss, his fans still expect him to win every time he steps on a court, no matter what the surface. For the last half-hour of a thrilling third-round encounter, they held their collective breath.