Roger Federer on Tuesday will attempt to claim another record and at the same time shatter French hopes of ending a 30-year wait for a men’s singles champion at Roland Garros.
The 2009 champion will play Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in his 36th consecutive grand slam quarter-final and victory will give the Swiss a 59th career win at the French Open.
That would take him past the previous best mark of 58 shared by Guillermo Vilas and Nicola Pietrangeli.
Victory for the 17-time major winner against Tsonga would mean an ongoing wait for a home men’s champion, 30 years after Yannick Noah triumphed in Paris.
Tsonga lost the pair’s only meeting on clay, in Rome in 2011 in straight sets, although he famously beat Federer in the Wimbledon quarter-finals later that year.
“I’m looking forward to the match against Jo Willy. It’s a big challenge playing him here in Paris. He’s a great friend of mine. I think we’re both looking forward to this match,” said Federer.
Tsonga has a point to prove to the crowd as well as to himself.
Twelve months ago at the same stage, he squandered four match points against Novak Djokovic.
“Until the end of my days, I will have it in my mind,” he said.
The winner of the match will take on fourth seed David Ferrer or Tommy Robredo who face off in an all-Spanish battle.
Ferrer was a semi-finalist in 2012 while Robredo, who was down at 471 in the rankings this time last year, has already been creating records in Paris.
He is the first man since Henri Cochet at Wimbledon in 1927 to win three successive matches by coming back from two sets to love.