Federer beats Wawrinka, setting up a French Open semifinal with Nadal

It was “the ballet of Federer versus the ballistics of Wawrinka,” put so articulately by Tennis Channel’s Jim Courier late in the third set of their French Open quarterfinal. The two Swiss shotmakers and former French Open champions were engaged in a gripping war-dance, each having taken one set, and Federer had just repelled a bullet forehand with a stretch backhand volley that no one in their late 30s should be trying, let alone making. It gave Federer a 2-0 lead in a tiebreak, shortly after he’d saved two set points, and the sport’s Baryshnikov would not surrender the lead again.

When Federer completed his rain-interrupted, 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (5), 6-4 victory, he earned his 23rd career win over Wawrinka (against just three losses, all on clay), he reached his 44th Grand Slam semifinal (tied with Martina Navratilova for second-most in the Open era (Chris Evert leads with 52), and, most interestingly, he set up a semifinal against Rafael Nadal, 14 years after their first meeting at Roland Garros.

"Probably," said Wawrinka when he was asked about the 39th meeting between Federer and Nadal. "Like, I'm a big fan of this sport. So when you get the chance to have in the semifinal of French Open Roger against Rafa, you're gonna put the TV on and watch. I always did in the past."

If Federer is to have any chance against Nadal, who thumped Kei Nishikori on nearby Court Philippe Chatrier, he’ll need to be even more opportunistic than he was against Wawrinka. While he was clutch in the two tiebreakers, Federer went 0 for 5 on break points in the first set, and failed to convert either of his first two set points in the third set. To his credit, Federer lost just five points on his serve heading into the first-set tiebreaker, and he saved two break points at 5-5 in the third.

Nadal won’t hit anywhere near as heavy a ball as Wawrinka did, but Federer’s defense will need to be just as exceptional as it was on Tuesday. Wawrinka came into this match having played substantially more tennis than Federer in Paris, including a 389-point fourth-rounder against Stefanos Tsitsipas. But he looked no worse for wear, and his groundstrokes looked no less imposing.

"It was a great match, great quality," said Wawrinka. "But I still believe that I can play better than that and he can play better than that."

Before a 75-minute rain delay stalled this compelling contest at 3-3 in the fourth, there wasn’t much to separate these two veteran fan favorites. But perhaps the precipitation was delaying the inevitable, considering Wawrinka's workload and Federer's form. Remember, Federer hadn't played Roland Garros since 2015, when he lost in this same stage against the same player.

At 4-4, Federer converted his first break point of the seven he'd earned in the set. A game later, despite some late Wawrinka heroics—he dodged two match points, and earned a break point with a fine forehand pass—Federer danced his way into the final four, for a tango with a familiar face.

"Like against any player, there is always a chance," said Federer when asked about the semifinal. "Otherwise nobody will be in the stadium to watch because everybody already knows the result in advance.

"For me to get to Rafa is not simple. It took five matches here for me to win to get there. That's why I'm very happy to play Rafa, because if you want to do or achieve something on the clay, inevitably, at some stage, you will go through Rafa, because he's that strong and he will be there. I knew that when I signed up for the clay that hopefully that's gonna happen. If I would have had a different mindset to avoid him, then I should not have played the clay. So I think by that mindset, I think it helped me to play so well so far this tournament."