France's Gael Monfils.
Federer, the 2009 champion, will now face Swiss Davis Cup winning teammate Stan Wawrinka for a place in the semi-finals.
He
raced through the final two sets on Monday in just over an hour after
the last-16 tie was delicately poised at a set apiece when it was
suspended in the chilly gloom of Sunday evening.
"I
feel fresh and pumped up to be back in the quarter-finals again after
missing out last year," said Federer, who was beaten by Ernests Gulbis
in the last 16 in 2014.
Monfils,
a semi-finalist in 2008, was nowhere near his swashbuckling best on
Monday slipping to a break down in the first game of both sets.
At
2-1 down in the fourth, he needed the trainer to be called although the
Frenchman's problems appeared more related to the cold from which he
was suffering rather than any physical problem.
He lost the last five games of
the contest and although he saved a match point with a trademark cute
drop volley, an equally characteristic wild forehand sealed his fate.
Monfils blamed a fever for his erratic performance.
"It
was tough because I'm sick. On the eve of the match I was not at my
best. I had a bad night and woke up repeatedly. I didn't have any fever
this morning, but my body was sluggish," said the 28-year-old Frenchman.
"I couldn't keep up the pace and I had a stuffed nose. So it was even harder."
It
was 33-year-old Federer's ninth win in 13 meetings against Monfils who
had triumphed over the Swiss star on clay in Monte Carlo last month and
in November's Davis Cup final.
Meanwhile, Federer will take a
16-2 career advantage over Wawrinka into Tuesday's quarter-final,
including a win on clay in Rome earlier this month.
"It's special to play Stan, there aren't many Swiss players in the draw," said Federer. "I'm quite positive about it."
Spanish
seventh seed David Ferrer recorded his 40th career win at Roland Garros
with a 6-2, 6-2, 6-4 victory over Croatian ninth seed Marin Cilic to
also reach the quarter-finals.
Ferrer,
the runner-up in 2013, will take on either third-seeded Andy Murray or
unseeded Frenchman Jeremy Chardy for a place in the semi-finals.
World
number one Novak Djokovic, bidding for a first French Open to complete
the career Grand Slam, faces French 20th seed Richard Gasquet.
The top seed has a 10-1 winning record over Gasquet whose only win over the Serb came eight years ago.
Djokovic
will look to extend his run of successive Grand Slam quarter-finals to
24 while a win for Gasquet would make him just the third Frenchman to
record 400 Tour-level match wins.
He is also looking for a place in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros for the first time at the 12th attempt.
Murray,
the number three seed and twice a semi-finalist, was defending a 6-1
career record over Chardy, including a successful meeting on clay in
Rome on the eve of Roland Garros.
Nine-time
champion Rafael Nadal can clinch his 70th win at the French Open and
reach a 10th quarter-final when he meets Jack Sock of the United States
for the first time.
Victory
for 22-year-old Sock would make him the first American man to reach the
Roland Garros quarter-finals since Andre Agassi in 2003.
Source: AFP
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