Djokovic rallies from the brink

Serbian outlasts Tsonga; Federer survives Del Potro test; Paes-Vesnina in semis

Novak Djokovic came back from the brink to save four match points before he downed local favourite Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 6-1, 5-7, 5-7, 7-6, 6-1 in the French Open quarterfinals and keep alive his dream of holding all four Grand Slam titles.

Serbian world number one Djokovic, looking to become the first man in 43 years to win the four majors consecutively, kept cool under tremendous pressure to save four match points on his serve in the fourth set, forcing a tiebreak he won 8-6 before breaking decisively early in the fifth.

"Unfortunately there had to be a winner and a loser," Djokovic, who applauded Tsonga as the Frenchman left Court Philippe Chatrier, said. "He was the better player for most of the match. I was fortunate to come back from four match points. I don't know how I came back from that."

Tsonga was distraught. "As I said before the match I gave everything," Tsonga said. "I would have loved to win this match but I had nothing left in my legs, I'm sorry for that," he added with a stifled sob.

Djokovic will now take on third seed Roger Federer in a re-match of last year's epic semifinal won by the Swiss.

Federer withstood two sets of Argentine fireworks before dousing Juan Martin del Potro's challenge with a 3-6, 6-7, 6-2, 6-0, 6-3 win to reach the semifinals.

The Swiss third seed's chances of winning a second title here appeared to be sinking fast as he drowned under a hail of winners flying off Del Potro's racket in the opening two sets.

But the 2009 champion stayed calm to break for a 2-0 lead in the third set and from then on Del Potro's dodgy left knee and mindset started to let him down.

The ninth seed won only eight points during a forgettable fourth set and his misery was compounded when he bowed out after a forehand clipped the net and bounced out to hand Federer victory.

A little later, Djokovic joined the Swiss ace, setting up a mouth-watering clash in the semifinal.

"The good thing is that we both have two days off to rest," Djokovic said, referring to Federer's five-set victory. "And I hope to have another great match like we had in 2011. It's always a big challenge to play Roger."

Stosur, Errani in semis

In the women’s event, a man's game helped propel Sam Stosur past Dominika Cibulkova and into the semifinals while her petite opponent in the next round, Sara Errani, needed a more delicate touch to beat Angelique Kerber.

Stosur's high-kicking serve and ferocious top-spin groundstrokes bamboozled 15th seed Cibulkova during her 6-4, 6-1 defeat.

Waiting for Stosur in the semifinals is the slightly-built Italian Errani who at 1.64 metres tall lacks the physical stature of many of the top performers in the women's game.

"I don't have too much power so I have to think more," Errani said after relying on her wily approach to overcome 10th-seeded German Kerber 6-3, 7-6 in her quarterfinal match.

Paes-Vesnina win

India’s Leander Paes and Elena Vesnina of Russia fought their way to the mixed doubles semifinals with a thrilling 4-6, 7-5, 10-5 victory over top seeds Max Mirnyi of Belarus and American Liezel Huber.

The fifth seeds took a little over one and a half hours to prevail over the Belarussian-American combine. Paes and Elena will next take on Poland’s Klaudia Jans-Ignacik and Santiago Gonzalez of Mexico next.  

Quarterfinal results (prefix denotes  seeding): Men’s singles: 1-Novak Djokovic (Serbia) bt 5-Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) 6-1, 5-7, 5-7, 7-6(6), 6-1; 3-Roger Federer (Switzerland) bt 9-Juan Martin Del Potro (Argentina) 3-6, 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-0, 6-3.

Women’s singles: 21-Sara Errani (Italy) bt 10-Angelique Kerber (Germany) 6-3, 7-6 (7-2); 6-Samantha Stosur (Australia) bt 15-Dominika Cibulkova (Slovakia) 6-4, 6-1.