"There's no way I'm going past the Novak section" - Federer reveals Roland Garros expectations after win over Cilic

In a battle of former Grand Slam champions, Roger Federer overcame mid-match slump to defeat Marin Cilic and book his spot in the third round of Roland Garros.

The Swiss No.1 required two hours and 35 minutes to achieve his 6-2 2-6 7-6(4) 6-2 victory, exactly an hour more than his first round victory over qualifier Denis Istomin.

"I feel like I surprised myself a little bit," Federer said after the match. “I didn’t expect myself to play that well or to have the energy left at the end like this and being able to keep on serving so consistently at the end was great.”

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Despite losing the second set after an argument with the umpire over a time violation, Federer regained his composure and prevailed. However, his Croatian opponent made life difficult the Swiss as he attempted to take balls early and give him less time to react. Nonetheless, Federer seemed to welcome the challenge.

"This is what I need right now. Actually, I think I felt really good on the court,” revealed Federer. “For me it will be interesting to see how I will feel tomorrow, because clearly it will feel very different from Istomin, having two days off to Cilic, having one day off. That will be a good test for me.

“Overall I’m very happy how I’m feeling and also confident that tomorrow I’ll feel fine somehow.”

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Additionally, the 20-time Grand Slam champion revealed that he did not believe he would win the French Open. He further stated that he would approach it one match at a time, with German Dominik Koepfer awaiting in the third round. Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic are all in the same half of the draw, setting up some potentially intriguing matchups.

"I still do believe there’s no way I’m going to go really, really super deep here or go past the Novak section," admitted the 39-year old. “The first round I didn’t surprise myself per se, but now in the second round, I did. Now can I keep it up and how will the body react? We’ll see. The mind is getting stronger, I can feel it. I have more clarity, I have more confidence growing in me.”

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