Federer through to last four

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:32

The Swiss, bidding to claim his first Roland Garros title and complete his haul of all four Majors, was in solid form as he swept to a 7-6 (8/6) 6-2 6-4 win on Philippe Chatrier court.

The victory not only moves Federer, the runner-up here the past three years, a step closer to greatness but it will also give him new-found belief after a topsy-turvy campaign at this year’s Roland Garros.

Federer looked much more in control of his game compared to earlier in the week, when he had to come back from two sets and 4-3 down to defeat Germany’s Tommy Haas.

His forehand was back working, his error count was lower and although 11th seed Monfils gave him a decent workout, the contest never lived up to the pre-match hype.

The Swiss, a 13-time grand-slam winner, was forced to save break points in the first and 11th games as an evenly-fought first set went to a tie-break.

After two mini-breaks each, Federer clinched it when he swatted home a forehand volley at the end of a riveting rally.

The former world number one, a four-set winner over Monfils in the 2008 semi-finals here, was even more consistent in the 28-minute second set.

Again his forehand and serve were hitting the spot and he broke twice to take the set and leave an off-key Monfils with a mountain to climb.

He will meet either Juan Martin del Potro or Tommy Robredo in the last four knowing that not only has no-one left in the draw beaten him on clay, but also that his arch-rival Rafael Nadal – toppled in the fourth round – can no longer prevent him winning the title.

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