Roger Federer admitted his fourth-round opponent Julien Benneteau caused him a few 'worrying' moments as the world No.1 battled to a straight-sets win at the French Open on Monday.
Benneteau, the world No.55, time and again thrilled the partisan crowd on Philippe Chatrier Court with some bullying groundstrokes, but ultimately the errors outweighed the winners as the class of the Swiss maestro told.
Federer posted a workmanlike 6-4 7-5 7-5 triumph in an entertaining encounter, but admitted that facing a fired-up Benneteau on his home turf was more taxing than the result indicated.
"It might be tough but I think that the (French) public was fair," said Federer.
"Once again, they were here when they were needed for Benneteau."
"He broke me twice when I was serving for the set in the first, so the pressure was going up."
"That's when Benneteau started playing well, perhaps worrying me a little, but I managed to play well afterwards."
It appeared to be business as usual in the opening set as Federer claimed two early breaks to move three games ahead, but Benneteau rallied to get back on serve at 5-4.
Federer bounced back in the 10th game, however, breaking Benneteau to close out the first set.
The Swiss, seeking a 13th grand slam crown and a first at Roland Garros, broke twice in the second to move two sets clear, despite Benneteau frequently displaying the battling qualities that saw him come from a set down to beat Robin Soderling in the last round.
A 90-minute rain delay prior to the start of the third set did little for the concentration levels of either player, but it was Federer who appeared the least flustered as he broke Benneteau twice more to secure the win after two hours and 26 minutes.
Next up for Federer is a quarter-final encounter with Chile's Fernando Gonzalez, who breezed into the last eight with a routine 7-6 (7/4) 6-3 6-1 win over unseeded American Robby Ginepri.
The 24th seed is a clay-court specialist and is unbeaten on the surface in 2008, his win against Ginepri his 16th of the season.
Federer is heeding all the warning signs, however, and is braced for a tough battle against a man who has won titles at Vina Del Mar and Munich this season.
"He is a dangerous player," said Federer.
"He was born on clay, more or less, and his tournament has been good. Today was a key match for him."
"I practised with him when I arrived here and he played well during practice. I must say he's got one of the best forehands on the tour, so we'll have to be very careful."