Tennis French Open Roger Federer handed Olympic champion Nicolas Massu a reality check with a 6-1 6-2 6-7 7-5 victory in the third round of the French Open on Friday.
The pony-tailed Chilean had the distinction of entering the match with the most claycourt wins on the men's circuit in 2006 but that statistic counted for little against Federer.
The Swiss world number one, aiming to become only the third man to hold all four grand slam titles at once, effortlessly dismantled Massu's game and confidence during the first two sets.
"The first two sets were surprise to me because I dominated him so much," Federer, who has won seven of the last 11 majors, told reporters.
"I was playing very well. I was aggressive and serving well, really dominating from the baseline."
A momentary lapse in concentration by Federer in the third set offered Massu a glimmer of hope.
Serving for the match at 6-5, Federer was broken and lost the ensuing tiebreak 7-4 when he sailed a forehand wide.
Stunned by the prospect of being forced into a fourth set, Federer seemed to be in a trance as he quickly fell love-40 behind in the opening game.
That advantage, however, was snuffed out by Federer, who unleashed a series of backhand and forehand winners to hold serve.
Massu's resolve eventually crumbled when he was serving to stay in the contest at 6-5 down.
A wild forehand handed Federer a match point and he wrapped it up when his opponent slapped a back hand into the net after two hours and 35 minutes.
"It's a pity that I couldn't finish it earlier but in the end it was a good match for me," said the 24-year-old.
"I played a bad service game and that cost me an extra round to go to four.
"I knew coming in to this match it would be a tough one and, as expected, it was. But the win gives me confidence for the rest (of the tournament)."
Federer will next face Czech Tomas Berdych, who beat the Swiss at the Athens Olympics, for a place in the quarter-finals.