FRENCH OPEN ROUND UP- Tsonga demolishes Federer in Paris, Serena claims 1st French open semi final spot in a decade

There will be no Roger Federer in the semi-finals of the French Open for only the second time in nine years after Jo-Wilfried Tsonga produced a rip-roaring performance to beat the Swiss 7-5 6-3 6-3 in the quarter-finals.

Twelve months after blowing four match points at the same stage against Novak Djokovic, Tsonga made sure he had a much easier ride as he sparked wild jubilations on Chatrier Court by downing a player who is used to being a fan favourite no matter where he plays.

A backhand long from Federer on match point handed Tsonga a place in the last four at Roland Garros for the first time as Federer made a quick exit from the arena where he had held aloft the Musketeers' Cup in 2009. 

A shot fired straight into Federer's armpit demonstrated just how badly Tsonga wanted to win this match.

Federer was left wide-eyed and wincing when the ball bounced off his sweat-soaked shirt. But that momentary pain was nothing compared to the mental anguish the Swiss was feeling two games later. 

"This is obviously a crushing loss," Federer said following a quick shirt change. "I struggled a little bit everywhere. Personally, I'm pretty sad about the match and the way I played.

"Jo-Willy played great today. He was better than me in all areas today. He returned better than I did, served better than I did. I struggled to find my rhythm.

"I'm just disappointed I couldn't put in a better match today."

Federer did not even have to look at the statistics to know just how badly his day had gone.

For the record, he produced zero aces, three double faults - including one on break point - 34 unforced errors and won only 58 percent of points on his first serve.

The numbers were certainly not adding up for a man who has lit up the world stage for a decade sweeping up a record 17 Grand Slam trophies in the process.

The Swiss counts Tsonga as one of his close friends on the tour and if he was looking for any favours on Tuesday, they were in short supply.

"Missing smashes goes hand in hand with missing so many other things," said Federer, who was broken six times during the contest.

"Should have never gotten broken (after being up) 4-2 (in the first set). In hindsight now that's obviously a huge game for me, and things didn't go well from then on for me today."

While Federer was left to digest everything that went wrong for him on Tuesday, Tsonga rejoiced in setting up a last-four date with Ferrer without dropping a set.

A backhand long from Federer on match point allowed Tsonga to bury memories of the "tragic near miss" against Djokovic and dream about the possibility of becoming the first Frenchman in the final since Henri Leconte in 1988. 

"I played very well against a champion who won everything but today it was my turn," said a beaming Tsonga.

Tsonga will next face fourth seed David Ferrer after he beat Tommy Robredo 6-2 6-1 6-1 in an-all Spanish clash on Suzanne Lenglen.

Ferrer, the second-best claycourter in Spain behind defending champion Rafael Nadal, was all over Robredo from the start, producing a near-perfect display to reach the semi-finals for the second successive year.

"Ferrer has not lost more than three games in a set so I hope I can come back here in three days and do something big." Tsonga added.

Serena Williams is through to the French Open semi-finals for the first time in a decade after fighting back to beat Svetlana Kuznetsova at Roland Garros.

The world number one has plenty of baggage in Paris with four last-eight defeats over the last 10 years, including in 2009 against Kuznetsova, who went on to win the title.

Williams had dropped only 10 games on her way to the quarter-finals and was on a run of 28 wins in a row, but she was forced to dig extremely deep to come through 6-1 3-6 6-3.

 

Having won the title only once here, 11 years ago, the 31-year-old left everybody watching in no doubt how much she wants another.

The world number one saw off three double break points in the decider  and played some beautiful tennis to set up a semi-final meeting with fifth seed Sara Errani.

The Italian beat fourth-seeded Pole Agnieszka Radwanska 6-4 7-6(6). 

Errani's prolific work ethic this year - her 81 matches is almost double that of anyone else in the top 10 - paid off as she flummoxed Radwanska with an array of ferocious forehands, delightful dropshots and luscious lobs.

The Italian fifth seed secured her first ever win over a top five player to book her semi-final spot.