And so it seemed very much in keeping with this French Open that Federer, finally free of the specter and reality of Nadal in Paris, should find himself down two sets to love and a break point against Tommy Haas. The second seed would win, conquering his own evident nerves and Haas’s still-evident talent. But it would require a stirring comeback that began with a bold forehand winner on that break point at 3-4, 30-40 in the third set before the Swiss could close Haas out: 6-7 (4-7) 5-7 6-4 6-0 6-2.

“When I made the forehand to save the break point in the third set, I really felt it could be the turning point,” Federer said. “I was really relieved.”

Overall, the Swiss now holds a 9-2 edge over Haas, but Federer had never played him in this situation: with the only Grand Slam singles title he lacks suddenly visible on the horizon with no left-handed Majorcan with a wicked forehand to muck up the view. “It’s true that it’s a bit of a relief for all the players, because everybody sees it’s more open than in the past,” Federer said on French television of Nadal’s defeat. “I think it’s a bit of a shock in the locker room. Everybody believes, but it also can put on too much pressure.”

It looked, for big stretches of the match, like a bit too much for Federer to bear as he mishit forehands, pushed his one-handed backhand tentatively and struggled to free himself from the shackles on a centre court full of French and Swiss fans wishing him well. Federer said, despite appearances, Nadal’s absence did not weigh on him in Monday’s match.

“He’ll bounce back strong; I’m convinced of that,” Federer said. “Of course my dream scenario is to beat Rafa here in the finals, but I’ve got to concentrate on my part of the draw and make sure I come through like today.”

Spain’s Tommy Robredo, seeded 16th, advanced to the quarter-finals with a 6-4 5-7 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 victory over Kohlschreiber and will face Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina after the fifth seed defeated Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France 6-2 6-7 (5) 6-1 6-4. (NYT)

Paes-Dlouhy in semis

Leander Paes kept the Indian challenge alive by advancing to the men’s doubles semi-finals with Czech Lukas Dlouhy. The third seeds thwarted a late challenge from fifth seeds Bruno Soares of Brazil and Kevin Ullyett of Zimbabwe to emerge victorious 6-2 7-6 (5).

The Indo-Czech pair face either top seeds Daniel Nestor of Canada and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia or Russians Igor Kunitsyn and Dmitry Tursunov.