Djokovic dispatches Chardy to reach Madrid quarters

Novak Djokovic defeated Jeremy Chardy 6-1, 7-6 (7/2) on Thursday at the Madrid Open to extend his domination of French opponents.

The Serb top seed needed less than 90 minutes to reach the quarterfinals at the Caja Magica, beating Chardy for the 13th time in as many attempts.

Djokovic holds an overwhelming record against the French, standing 66-2 against them since leading Serbia to the 2010 Davis Cup title over France.

Djokovic, the Madrid champion in 2011 and 2016, is searching for his top clay form as he begins the chase a fourth straight Grand Slam title when Roland Garros starts in little over two weeks.

He secured the opening set in less than half an hour, but was forced to a tiebreaker as Chardy's resistance stiffened in the second.

He will face ninth seed Marin Cilic next after the Croatian put out Laslo Djere 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, winning 11 of the last 13 games.FEDERER BEAT MONFILS

Roger Federer saved two match points to defeat France's Gael Monfils 6-0, 4-6, 7-6 (7/3) to reach quarterfinals.

Federer trailed 4-2 in the deciding set before levelling at 4-4.

The 20-time Grand Slam winner then saved match points in the 12th game before sweeping through the tiebreaker to record his 1 200th career win.

Federer, playing his first clay court tournament in three years, will face Austrian fifth seed and recent Barcelona champion Dominic Thiem on Friday for a place in the semifinals.