Relief for Roger Federer as he stages great escape

Next in line: Roger Federer will now face either Andy Roddick or Gael Monfils
James Olley13 April 2012

Roger Federer battled back from the brink of defeat today to reach the French Open quarter-finals and stay on course for a record-equalling 14th Grand Slam title.

Just 24 hours after four-time champion Rafael Nadal suffered a shock exit on Court Philippe Chatrier, the No2 seed appeared to be heading for a similar fate when trailing by two sets against German Tommy Haas.

But Federer produced a stirring comeback to win 6-7, 5-7, 6-4, 6-0, 6-2 in three hours and seven minutes to set up a meeting with either Andy Roddick or Gael Monfils on Wednesday. Champions are defined by moments such as the break point Federer had to fend off trailing 4-3 in the third set which, if converted, would have enabled 31-year-old Haas to serve for the match.

Federer had been suffering with an erratic forehand throughout the tie yet after a gutsy second serve, he struck a stunning cross-court winner.

"When I hit that forehand to save break point, I had the feeling it could be a turning point," said Federer (right), who has his sights on Pete Sampras's slam record. "After that, the atmosphere was great. Tommy played great, I struggled to get into the encounter."

Meanwhile, top seed Laura Robson staged a comeback of her own to recover from a set down and beat Karina Pimkina of Russia 2-6, 6-3, 63 in the girls' singles.

The 15-year-old Briton, who won the junior title at Wimbledon last year, initially struggled with her game but fought back valiantly to win in one hour and 41 minutes and set up a second-round encounter with Sandra Zaniewska of Poland.

However, No13 seed Heather Watson lost 7-5, 6-4 to Gracia Radovanovic of France.

In the women's draw, America's Serena Williams needed just 53 minutes to see off Canadian Aleksandra Wozniak 6-1, 6-2.

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