Federer escapes Del Potro; Errani to face Stosur in semisPARIS — Four times, the stands at Roland Garros were ready to erupt, a beloved Frenchman standing one point from beating the world's top player and ending his quest for history. Four times, Novak Djokovic had an answer for Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. And so, instead of Tsonga Time at the French Open, Djokovic is still on the road to the “Novak Slam.” Top-seeded Djokovic overcame four match points, to say nothing of the wildly partisan crowd, for a 6-1, 5-7, 5-7, 7-6 (6), 6-1 victory over Tsonga that ended near twilight Tuesday in front of drizzle-soaked stands that had quickly emptied after the match points vanished and the final set had become academic. “It was incredible from the start,” Djokovic said. “I played really well for a set and a break up. The crowd supported Jo. He started playing really well. It was really difficult to stay focused but I was believing maybe I could have my chances. He was playing really aggressive. If he would have won today, he would have been a well-deserved winner.” Instead, Djokovic got the “W” — his 26th straight in the majors. After he converted his first match point — a backhand winner down the line — Djokovic leaned back and pumped his fists over and over. Tsonga, the No. 5 seed who had dreams of becoming the first Frenchman to win his country's Grand Slam since Yannick Noah in 1983, sat with his head buried in a towel, while the few fans left chanted his name. It was the end to a remarkable day of tennis that also included third-seeded Roger Federer's comeback from two sets down for a 3-6, 6-7 (4), 6-2, 6-0, 6-3 over No. 9 seed Juan Martin del Potro. It was Federer's seventh career rally from down two sets to love. After both the winners rest their legs, they'll meet with a spot in the final on the line. “Well, I'm very disappointed for Jo,” Federer said. “I would have loved to play him here in Paris. I have a feeling that the crowd would have loved to see such a match. For him, it's a disappointment. As for me, it's nothing different as from last year. I'm playing Djokovic in the semifinal.” Djokovic's last Grand Slam loss came to Federer in that semifinal last year — a defeat that ended the Serb's 43-match winning streak. If Federer does it again, he'll set the stage for his 17th Grand Slam tournament title, but his first since the 2010 Australian Open. Earlier in the day, in the women's quarterfinals, No. 6 Samantha Stosur defeated No. 15 Dominika Cibulkova 6-4, 6-1 and No. 21 Sara Errani made her first Grand Slam semifinal with a 6-3, 7-6 (2) victory over 10th-seeded Angelique Kerber. Stosur leads the series 5-0, including a 6-3, 7-5 victory earlier this year on clay in Rome. Stosur's match against Cibulkova was pretty much drama free, save a minor blip in the second set when, trailing 1-0, she faced three break points at love-40. But she won 13 of the next 14 points to take control and wound up winning the match's last six games. Stosur made only four unforced errors in the second set. “Today, in tough moments, she gave me so many good winners, so many lines, and it was just everything going her way,” Cibulkova said. Stosur was the French Open runner-up to Francesca Schiavone in 2010 and made the semifinals in 2009. Errani won her first career match in 29 tries against a top-10 player. The second set included eight total breaks, including twice by Errani when Kerber served for the set. Playing in her 19th career major tournament, Errani beat two past French Open champions in her previous two matches: 2008's Ana Ivanovic and 2009's Svetlanta Kuznetsova.
