Federer relishing Guga challenge

World number one Roger Federer has revealed he did not come to Paris with “the ambition of winning the French Open” but admits that beating three-time winner Gustavo Kuerten in the third round would be a “huge step”.

Top seed Federer ousted Germany’s Nicolas Kiefer 6-3 6-4 7-6 (8-6) in the second round on Thursday to book his ticket to the next stage and will next face ’Guga’, who thrashed Belgium’s Gilles Elseneer in straight sets, 6-2 6-0 6-3.

The Swiss player, who reached the quarter-finals in Paris in 2001 before being beaten by Alex Corretja, has bowed out of the tournament in the first round for the last two years.

And he knows the third round could be a tough one against Kuerten, who triumphed at Roland Garros in 1997, 2000 and 2001.

“I am really looking forward to it, this is going to be a great match for the tournament and a great match for Guga and myself,” Federer said.

“We have not played each other much mainly because of injuries and also because we don’t necessarily play on the same surfaces.

“But it’s going to be nice to face a nice guy like him and if I get through it will be a huge step for me.

“I did not have many ambitions to win the tournament when I arrived in Paris simply because I did not want to put too much expectations on myself. But we will see what happens next.”

Federer was pleased to have come through his clash with Kiefer despite not being at his best but admits he will have to raise his game against the Brazilian.

“I will certainly have to play better, especially serve better and be more aggressive against Kuerten,” Federer added.

“The game I produced today was enough to progress to the next round but I’ll have to be better next time.”

Kuerten, meanwhile, has admitted the prospect of facing the world number one is boosting his motivation.

“This tournament becomes more and more enjoyable as I reach the further stages,” he said.

“Facing Federer in the next round is going to push myself further, this is a very enthusiastic prospect for my motivation.”

In the other matches, former world number one and now 12th seed Lleyton Hewitt defeated Austria’s Jurgen Melzer 6-4 6-4 4-6 6-2 in two hours and 44 minutes to progress to the third round.

The Australian has improved his game on clay significantly in recent years but concedes he still has plenty of work to do to reach the level of clay-court experts such as Carlos Moya, defending champion Juan Carlos Ferrero or Argentinian star Guillermo Coria.

“I have to adjust my game far more on clay,” said 2001 US Open and 2002 Wimbledon champion Hewitt.

"I think naturally on hard court, I actually grew up playing on hard court.

“On grass it’s easier to adjust but it’s going to take more time on clay, it’s not as natural for me as on other surfaces.

“Plus some of these other guys wake up in the morning and go and train on clay every day of their life.”