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Roger Federer of Switzerland celebrates victory during the Men's Singles Fourth Round match against Tommy Haas of Germany on day nine of the French Open at Roland Garros on June 1, 2009 in Paris, France. |
Roger Federer survived an early scare and a five-set thriller to advance into the last eight at the French Open Monday.
The Swiss second seed, with 13 Grand Slam titles under his belt, fought back from two sets down to beat Tommy Hass of Germany 6-7(4), 5-7, 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 in a three hours and seven minutes marathon.
Federer saved two game points to break at 4-4 in a key third set and rolled on to take three straight sets to keep alive his hopes for a first-ever title at Roland Garros.
"It's a great battle. I'm thrilled to be through, given another chance here," said the 27-year-old.
"I was serving all right in the first set. But in the second, when I was broken while leading 4-3, I was a bit nervous and definitely felt the pressure there. But then I remained calm and tried to stay positive."
Top seed and four-time winner Rafael Nadal crashed out overnight after a sensational loss to Swedish Robin Soderling, clearing the way for the Swiss to win the tournament where he lost three finals and a semifinal.
Federer, who watched Nadal's defeat on TV, insisted that he has yet to put his mind on the Paris crown right now.
"I would like to play Nadal in the final. But my focus is on the next match," he said.
"Robin played great. I was impressed by his game. It shows how hard to win day in and day out. We're all human. We all lose in some stage. I think he (Nadal) knows that too."
(Xinhua News Agency June 2, 2009)
