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Roger Federer continued his quest for a record tenth Halle title on Thursday with a captivating, 7-6 (5), 4-6, 7-5 victory over Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. While the scoreline may surprise based on their rankings—Tsonga is No. 77; Federer is No. 3—the Frenchman's heavy game will always play well on grass, and he has a win over the Swiss on turf. In 2011, Tsonga shocked Federer, and the tennis world, with a rally from two sets down in the Wimbledon quarterfinals.

Despite winning 96 percent of his first-service points in the first set, Federer found somehow himself in a hole, down 3-0 in the tiebreak. But in typical Federer fashion—he is now 12-6 against Tsonga—he reeled off seven of the next nine points to capture the set.

With a set and break in hand, Federer appeared to be in  control, but Tsonga had other ideas. The 34-year-old raised his level and capitalized on some uncharacteristic Federer errors to capture the second set, 6-4.

Near the end of a tightly contested third set, Federer broke Tsonga at 5-5, then held serve to advance to the quarterfinal. A fortunate let cord aided Federer on the penultimate point (watch above); he finished the match with a drama-free ace.

Despite squandering a set and break lead, Roger Federer was all smiles after pulling out the victory.

Federer will face Roberto Bautista Agut in the quarterfinal. Bautista Agut is an underrated grass-court player who owns a career 26-11 record on the surface. Federer, who snapped a two-match losing streak to Tsonga, is an eight-time Wimbledon champion.

Federer edges Tsonga in three to continue pursuit of 10th Halle title

Federer edges Tsonga in three to continue pursuit of 10th Halle title