It was a day of close calls for two of the top men's tennis players on Tuesday at the French Open. Number one seeded Novak Djokovic and No. 3 Roger Federer were taken to five sets before narrowly beating their opponents in the quarterfinals of the tournament. The two will play each other in the semifinals.
Djokovic fell behind two sets to one after an easy opening set win against No. 5 Jo-Wilfried Tsongo. Tsongo was able to break service to end the second and third sets, then hold match points at 5-4 and 6-5 in the fourth before finally falling to the top seed in the fifth set.
"It was incredible from the start," Djokovic said. "I played really well for a set and a break up. The crowd supported Jo. He started playing really well. It was really difficult to stay focused but I was believing maybe I could have my chances. He was playing really aggressive. If he would have won today, he would have been a well-deserved winner."
Earlier in the day, Federer held off No. 9 seed Juan Martin del Potro. Federer lost the first two sets before rallying to win the final three. It is the seventh time in his career he has overcome a two-set deficit to win a match.
"I was happy that the first two sets took some time, because I did favor myself once the match got longer," Federer said. "That's kind of how it came."
It was del Porto who ended Federer's 40-match U.S. Open winning streak in 2009. Since that meeting, Federer has beaten del Porto in seven consecutive meetings.
Now Djokovic and Federer will face off for a chance to appear in the finals. The two met in the semifinals of last year's French Open as well. In that match, Federer ended Djokovic's 43-match winning streak. Since then, Djokovic has not lost a match in a Grand Slam. During the streak he has won Wimbledon and the U.S. Open last year and the Australian Open this past winter. He is looking to win his fourth consecutive major tournament, If successful, he will be the first man to winfour straight since Rod Laver in 1969.
"The good thing is that we both have two days off now to rest," Djokovic said. "And I hope to have another great match like we did in 2011. It's always a big challenge to play Roger. He's a fantastic player, a big champion."
