Tennis:Roger Federer moved into his 20th successive Grand Slam semi-final as he ended home hopes at the French Open today.
After a stumble in the previous round, the second seed was back to his best as he recorded a 7-6 (8/6) 6-2 6-4 win over Gael Monfils, the last remaining French player in the singles draws.
Having had to fight back from two sets down to beat Tommy Haas in the last 16, Federer did not drop serve and his forehand was firing again against Monfils as he set up a semi-final clash with either Juan Martin Del Potro or Tommy Robredo.
Federer's latest win takes him to within two victories of greatness - if he lifts the trophy on Sunday he will not only equal Pete Sampras' all-time record of 14 Grand Slam singles titles but also become only the sixth man ever to win all four majors.
Credit should go to Monfils for reaching the last eight having been a doubt for the tournament due to a knee injury when he arrived in Paris.
However, he was no match for Federer on this occasion, at least not once he had lost the first set.
The opener went entirely with serve but, after saving set point in the tie-break, Federer prevailed to move ahead.
In what was a repeat of last year's semi-final won by Federer, Monfils must have known a good start to the second set was vital, yet he was powerless to prevent the Swiss moving 4-0 ahead.
Monfils, the junior champion here in 2004, lost only his fourth and fifth games of the tournament on serve as Federer turned the screw and it was a position from which the Frenchman was unable to recover.
After Federer served the set out, Monfils called for the doctor, seemingly complaining about a stomach ailment.
However, it only prolonged the agony.
In the third set, Monfils staved off break point in third game but couldn't do so again in game nine, leaving Federer to serve out for a place in the last four which he duly did.
With nemesis and four-time champion Rafael Nadal no longer in the tournament, Federer will fancy his chances of writing more tennis history in the coming days.