Federer stutters on way to semis
Federer suffered a minor scare as he advanced to the final four
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Tuesday, 05, Jun 2007 10:13
World number one Roger Federer has powered into the semi-finals of the French Open after recovering from losing the first set of his campaign to Tommy Robredo.
The Spaniard had been narrowly edged out in the match's opener, but made an emphatic comeback before Federer regained control and saw the match out 7-5 1-6 6-1 6-2.
Robredo had capitalised on some uncharacteristically loose play from his opponent to rattle off the second set in style and when Federer offered up two break points in his opening service game in the third, the crowd sensed an upset brewing.
But Federer saved both the break points and did not look back as he cruised to victory, conceding just three more games on the way.
"It's never easy to play Tommy, especially on clay - it's his favourite surface," Federer said.
"Sadly I had too many errors in the second set but overall it was a good test.
"It was very windy in the second set. He was solid and hit his forehand really well. I hit it too flat and I didn't use the wind to my advantage.
"I couldn't react to it but I got a good start in the third set and I was on a roll again."
Nikolay Davydenko awaits the Swiss star in the semi-finals after he recorded a straight-sets victory over Guillermo Canas.
That result may well be to Federer's liking as Canas as beaten him twice already this year and would represent an awkward obstacle in his quest to land the one Grand Slam title that has eluded him to date.