Switzerland's Roger Federer returns a shot during his men's singles tennis match against Lucas Pouille of France in the third round of the Paris Masters tennis tournament at the Bercy sports hall in Paris, October 30, 2014. REUTERS/Benoit Tessie
Switzerland's Roger Federer returns a shot during his men's singles tennis match against Lucas Pouille of France in the third round of the Paris Masters tennis tournament at the Bercy sports hall in Paris, October 30, 2014. REUTERS/Benoit Tessier Reuters

Roger Federer clinched his 14th consecutive victory in the third round of the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris. Federer defeated Lucas Pouille in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, to advance in the quarterfinals.

Both Federer and Pouille traded back-to-back until the scoreboard tallied at 3-3. Federer got only one break point and seal the first set three games later, 6-4.

Pouille stayed aggressive in the second set. However, the Frenchman critically dropped serve at 3-3, like what happened in the first set, after Federer hit a backhand that sent the ball to the corner of the court. Federer took control until the end to book his place in the quarterfinals, 6-4, in one hour and 14 minutes.

Federer scored four aces and 21 winners, while Pouille had seven aces and 23 winners. The Swiss only had 13 unforced errors compared to Pouille's 34.

Prior the match, Federer said that Pouille is capable of playing good tennis. "He knows how to serve, he knows how to go to the net," Federer said of Pouille.

Pouille, on the other hand, has said via Tennis World USA that the 17-time Grand Slam champion has always been his childhood idol. He said that he is a great fan of Federer and had always dreamed of playing with him on the court.

Next up for Federer is Canadian Milos Raonic, who is in a mad dash to qualify for the season-ending finals in London in November. Raonic is currently in the 10th place. Raonic will only qualify at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals if he wins the title in Paris Bercy. Raonic has advanced in the quarterfinals after wins over Jack Sock and Roberto Bautista-Agut in the early rounds.

Federer leads their head-to-head, 6-0, including two wins in the current season at Wimbledon and Cincinnati. Federer is on a quest to win his 24th career singles title in Paris and to reclaim the World No. 1 rank. Federer needs to win the BNP Paribas Masters title if he wants to claim the top spot in the world rankings. Federer is also likely to rank first in the world if Djokovic fails to reach the quarterfinals in Paris.

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