Federer struggles to reach Q-Finals in Paris
PARIS: Roger Federer racked up his 900th tour win and reached a 36th consecutive Grand Slam quarter-final of the French Open.
Second seed Federer battled back to defeat French 15th seed Gilles Simon, 6-1, 4-6, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Federer, 31, claimed a record-equalling 58th win at Roland Garros, but he did it the hard way, briefly staring at his earliest exit at a major since losing to Gustavo Kuerten in Paris in the third round in 2004.
Federer goes on to face French sixth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga for a place in the semi-finals after taking his career five-set record to 22-1.
There was no hint of the drama to come when the 2009 champion, playing in a 56th consecutive Grand Slam, carved out breaks in the third and fifth games to take the first set.
But once the Swiss had suffered an awkward fall in the seventh game of the second his momemtum also took a dive with 28-year-old Simon speeding through the next two sets.
However, refreshed by a break off the court to gather his thoughts and reconstruct his game, 17-time Grand Slam champion Federer levelled the tie.
The spirit seeped from Simon, who had already played two five-setters in his three previous rounds.
Federer reeled off seven straight games from 2-2 in the fourth set to take control of the decider at 3-0 and took victory on a second match point when Simon slapped a backhand wide.
