Federer and Chardy will be squaring off for the fourth time in their careers and for the fourth time in less than a year and a half when they clash again in round two of the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters on Wednesday. They also faced each other at this stage in one of last season’s clay-court Masters, with Chardy pulling off a 1-6, 6-3, 7-6(6) upset in Rome. Federer had previously prevailed 6-3, 6-7(3), 6-3 on the hard courts of Brisbane and he later got the job done 7-6(5), 6-7(5), 6-4 on the indoor hard courts of Paris Bercy.

Chardy booked his spot in the last 32 by disposing of Diego Schwartzman 7-5, 6-2 on Tuesday. The 35th-ranked Frenchman…