Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer closed in on a French Open semi-final showdown yesterday
Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer closed in on a French Open semi-final showdown yesterday.
Second seed Djokovic took his winning run to 43 matches as he brushed aside France's Richard Gasquet 6-4, 6-4, 6-2 to set up a last eight clash with Fabio Fognini.
Federer, the 2009 champion and third seed, reached a record 28th successive Grand Slam quarter-final with a 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 win over best friend Stanislas Wawrinka.
Serbia's Novak Djokovic returns to France's Richard Gasquet during
yesterday's French Open fourth round match. Djokovic won 6-4, 6-4, 6-2.
PIC/AFP
He will next tackle either Spain's David Ferrer or Gael Monfils of France.
Not to be outdone, unheralded Fognini, the world 49, became the first Italian man to reach the quarter-finals in 16 years by defeating Spain's Albert Montanes 4-6, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3, 11-9 win in a 4 hour 22 minute marathon.
Unstoppable Djokovic is now just three wins short of matching Guillermo Vilas's record of 46 consecutive wins and one shy of John McEnroe's mark of 42 for an unbeaten start to a season set in 1984.
The red-hot Serb breezed to his fifth career win in six meetings against the 13th-seeded Gasquet.
Meanwhile, in the women's group Russian teen Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova sent third seed Vera Zvonareva crashing out with a 7-6 (7/4), 2-6, 6-2 to reach the quarter-finals..
Also through to the last eight was Italian Francesca Schiavone who defeated Jelena Jankovic 6-3, 2-6, 6-4.u00a0 France's Marion Bartoli also progressed after Gisela Dulko retired when 7-5, 1-0 down with an injury to her left thigh.
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