Roger Federer will face Novak Djokovic in a blockbuster semi-final at the French Open after seeing off Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-4 6-3 7-6 (7/3) at Roland Garros today.
The 2009 champion is the only man to have reached the last four without dropping a set and he never really looked in any trouble today, although it was far from a vintage performance.
Between them, Federer and Monfils hit nearly 100 unforced errors, with the ninth seed contributing 53 of them, but it was the 41 winners from Federer that proved the difference.
The world number three said: 'I'm very happy. I'm feeling very good and I'm obviously proud about this achievement. It's definitely always nice to be in the semi-finals of a grand slam.
'The beginning was difficult. I had two double-faults. I had many problems at the beginning due to the wind on my service games. I'm really happy because I managed to find my game.
'It was not just playing against Gael, it was playing against the conditions. So I'm relieved and satisfied with my performance today.'
The strong wind made life difficult for both players, with Federer in particular mistiming a lot of shots early on, allowing Monfils to break his serve in the third game.
However, the world number three soon hit back before another break in the 10th game saw him clinch the second set.
Monfils, who had lost to Federer in the semi-finals in 2008 and the quarters in 2009, completed an epic win over David Ferrer yesterday but he just did not seem to have the power to trouble the Swiss.
Federer began the second set with a run of three games in a row and, although Monfils briefly broke back, he then threw in a horror show of a game, missing a smash from on top of the net and serving two double-faults in a row to concede another break.
That was that as far as the second set was concerned and, given Federer had never lost a grand-slam match from two sets up, the match seemed certain to follow.
The 29-year-old again failed to hold onto a break at the start of the third set but, despite failing to convert 11 break points, Federer dominated the tie-break and clinched victory on his third match point.
Monfils blamed his serve for his failure to put more pressure on Federer, saying: 'It was not easy with the wind to start with. He missed a lot of shots. My big weak point today was that I couldn't serve at all. It was a serious handicap. With more serves I would have been more dangerous.'
Federer is now the only man who can stop Djokovic becoming world number one and equalling John McEnroe's record start to a season of 42 straight wins.
The pair have met five times in the semi-finals of majors, with Djokovic, who was given a walkover into the last four by Fabio Fognini's withdrawal, winning three, including at the last two tournaments in Melbourne and New York.
Federer added: 'I'm looking forward to the match. I think we always play well against each other.'
Djokovic could even become world number one before Friday if current incumbent Rafael Nadal loses to Robin Soderling in the quarter-finals tomorrow.
