Roger Federer set up a French Open semi-final against defending champion Rafael Nadal by overcoming fellow Swiss Stan Wawrinka in four sets Tuesday

Shortly before Federer won, Nadal completed a 6-1 6-1 6-3 win over Kei Nishikori in the quarter-finals.

But 20-time Grand Slam champion Federer endured an energy-sapping three hours and 17 minutes on Court Suzanne Lenglen to win 7-6 (7-4) 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-4.

“The complete dream would be to win the tournament,” said Federer, 37.

“But I’m very happy, number one, to be back in another semi-final of a Grand Slam. It hasn’t happened in the last year or so. I had some tough losses in fourth rounds or quarters.

“So from that standpoint, I exceeded my expectations here.”

Both quarter-finals were interrupted by a thunderstorm in Paris.
Federer is playing at Roland Garros for the first time in four years, having missed the 2016 event with a back injury and skipped the past two clay-court swings to preserve his body.