The likelihood of Roger Federer competing at the French Open appeared to increase Tuesday night after he announced that wife Mirka had given birth to twins.

The world number four had pulled out of the Madrid Masters earlier in the day in anticipation of the possible arrivals and confirmed their birth on Twitter. He wrote: "Mirka and I are so incredibly happy to share that Leo and Lenny were born this evening! #TwinsAgain #Miracle".

The Swiss, who already has four-year-old twin girls, said last month that he would have no qualms about missing any tournament, to ensure he was at the birth.

Meanwhile, Maria Sharapova fought back to keep her winning streak on clay going in Madrid. The eighth seed looked in real trouble at 4-1 down in the deciding set in her second-round tie against American Christina McHale at the Madrid Open. However, she recovered to win 6-1 4-6 6-4.