PARIS — Quickly and rather quietly, Roger Federer is back in the French Open semifinals.
There will be absolutely nothing low-key — or, it seems safe to say, easy — about what comes next for the 16-time Grand Slam champion: a showdown against Novak Djokovic, who is 41-0 this year and unbeaten in his last 43 matches overall.
With attention focused elsewhere, perhaps in part because some assume his best days are behind him, Federer simply has won all 15 sets he has played, capped Tuesday by a 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (3) quarterfinal win over No. 9-seeded Gael Monfils.
“For me, the plan is trying to get a step further and into the finals of the French Open,” said Federer, who won the 2009 title at Roland Garros to complete a career Grand Slam but lost in the quarterfinals a year ago. “At the end of the day, that’s, for me, the big picture, and that’s why I entered the French Open. It wasn’t to stop Novak.”
Nevertheless, their semifinal is sure to be the talk of the tennis world until it’s played Friday.
For Djokovic — who didn’t need to exert himself Tuesday, because his quarterfinal opponent, Fabio Fognini, withdrew Monday with an injured left leg — a victory over Federer would guarantee a rise to No. 1 in the rankings for the first time. It also would make the second-seeded Serb 42-0 in 2011, tying John McEnroe in 1984 for the best start to a season in the Open era, which began in 1968. And it would put Djokovic one win from his first French Open title, the objective he cares most about at the moment.
For Federer, a victory would put him into his first Grand Slam final in more than 16 months, his longest drought since he won his first major title at Wimbledon in 2003. And it would make clear to everyone that he’s still at the top of the game as his 30th birthday approaches in August.
Five-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal faces two-time runner-up Robin Soderling in one of today’s quarterfinals, with No. 4 Andy Murray facing unseeded Juan Ignacio Chela in the other.
Playing with a torn tendon in his right ankle, Murray won the last five games to finish off a 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 comeback victory over No. 15 Viktor Troicki in a fourth-round match suspended Monday night because of darkness.
