Roger Federer faces a tough test against hometown boy Jo Wilfried Tsonga in the quarterfinals of the French Open, while Serena Williams looks to continue her march as the Grand Slam at Roland Garros reaches its business end.
Federer had a really tough outing against Gilles Simon in the fourth round Sunday, and will have to pull out all the stops yet again when he comes up against Tsonga.
"Now I clearly know where I stand and how well I'm playing," Federer said after the five-set win against Simon. "It gives me a lot of information. And, yeah, it's just now recovered a little bit, but I'm not too tired right now.
"Still fairly fresh. It wasn't one of those four-and-a-half hour battles. It was intense, but I think I did really well and never felt tired. For that reason, I'm looking forward to the match against Jo‑Willy.
"I mean, obviously it's a big challenge playing him here in Paris. He's a great friend of mine. We had a great tour together in South America on a couple of the events, and we know each other well. I think we're both looking forward to this match."
While both Tsonga and Federer might not favor the red clay, the 17-time Grand Slam champion expects an exciting match.
"It's going to be a totally different match like I just played with Simon," he added. "I still believe Jo is best on the hard courts, but he's really improved on the clay in the last few years. We have played on clay, as well, and in Rome one time, but I thought it was pretty disappointing in that match.
"It's going to be a totally different situation. He feeds off the fans, as well, and I think he's moving better than he has in ever in his life on clay. That's so important on this surface."
In the other men's quarterfinal match, David Ferrer takes on compatriot and comeback king Tommy Robredo in an intriguing encounter, which again promises to go right down to the wire.
The women's section will see Serena Williams facing fellow veteran Svetlana Kuznetsova, while Agnieszka Radwanska takes Italian Sara Errani.
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