Roger Federer survived an intense five-set battle against Gilles Simon to enter the quarterfinals of the French Open, while Serena Williams continued here serene march at Roland Garros with another masterclass.
Federer, who has had a breezy passage in the first three rounds, was in serious danger of making a shock exit in the fourth round against Frenchman Simon, going two sets to one down, before pulling out some of the unending magic from his racket to come away with a 6-1, 4-6, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 win and reach his 36th consecutive Grand Slam quarterfinal.
"It was beautiful, It's always fun being part of matches like this," Federer said. "I think I will look back on the 36 quarterfinals and say it was incredible, because it wasn't just a one-week or one-year thing.
"I had to fight through matches like this one. It's an amazing run, and I'm happy I'm still on it.
"At the end of the day, I work hard to be exactly in this situation in a tough match where the crowd is going crazy and you want to stay calm within the storm.
"Honestly, for me, it's what I play for."
Federer next faces another Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who had absolutely no trouble against Serbian Victor Troicki in a comfortable 6-3, 6-3, 6-3 victory.
"I'm looking forward to the match against Jo Willy," Federer added. "He's a great friend."
While Federer's match was compelling in itself, there was another man creating a record with Tommy Robredo becoming the first player in 86 years to pull off victory from two sets down in three successive Grand Slam matches.
Robredo had already come from the brink against Igor Sijsling and Gael Monfils in the previous two rounds, and he did the impossible again with a remarkable 6-7 (5), 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4 win over fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro.
"Nobody dreams of doing such things," Almagro, who broke down in tears after the win, said. "What one dreams of is to reach quarterfinals but not such a nightmare that is a five-setter.
"What I accomplished was very difficult, very complicated. Three comebacks the way I did, it's amazing."
There was no such drama for either David Ferrer or Serena Williams in their fourth round matches.
Ferrer, the man most likely to trip Federer's chances of making the final, eased to a 6-3, 6-1, 6-1 win over Kevin Anderson to enter his sixth straight Grand Slam quarterfinal.
Williams was also at her ruthless best, barely breaking a sweat in a 6-1, 6-3 win over Italian Roberta Vinci.
The American world number one now takes on Svetlana Kuznetsova in the last-eight after the veteran Russian pulled off a three-set 6-4, 4-6, 6-3 win over German Angelique Kerber.
"It will be a good match," Serena said. "Last time we played here she won so that will probably get her pumped up and she's on a comeback.
"She has nothing to lose but everything to gain. I've had some pretty tough matches on clay this year and for sure this will be another."
In other matches, 2012 finalist Sara Errani fought past Carla Suarez Navarro 5-7, 6-4, 6-3 while former champ Ana Ivanovic was knocked out by Agnieszka Radwanska 6-2, 6-4.
