No piece of cake for Novak: Djokovic taken to the wire in five-setter

By Mike Dickson for the Daily Mail

Published: 14:40 EST, 3 June 2012 | Updated: 14:40 EST, 3 June 2012

While Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer were forced to play escapologist, birthday boy Rafael Nadal had nothing more stressful than the presentation of something baked for him by French Open organisers.

It looks increasingly like Nadal, now 26, is going to have his cake and eat it over the coming week, for on the evidence of Sunday neither of his main rivals are in the kind of form that is going to stop him winning a seventh title.

Djokovic flirted with extreme danger before coming back to beat Italian No1 Andreas Seppi in five sets, thereby avoiding the fate of women's top seed Victoria Azarenka, who turned out to be the day's main casualty.

Roger Federer also had many more problems than he would have envisaged against youthful 21-yearold Belgian David Goffin, needing four sets to put away someone who last month featured against Great Britain's team in the Davis Cup in Glasgow.

It has looked all tournament like the strain of trying to become the first man in 43 years to hold all four Grand Slams has been getting to Djokovic, who scraped through 4-6 6-7, 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 against the in-form Italian.

Conditions were different in that it was much cooler than last week with a brisk wind, and he never looked comfortable as he dropped serve six times - Nadal has dropped his just once in three matches so far - before staying on course to meet Federer in the semi-finals.

The 25 year-old Serb was far from his usual ebullient self as he reflected on an escape that took four hours and 18 minutes versus someone who won the tournament he owns in Belgrade last month.

'When I was two sets down I was positive I could win the match and that's the only good thing I can pick up from this,' he said.

'It's just one of those days when you feel that nothing is working. But I'll wake up knowing I'm in the quarter finals, and that my next performance will have to be better.'

That is certainly true, for his opponent will be French number one Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who is buoyed by reaching the last eight here for the first time.

There will have to be fewer of the unforced errors that littered this match, and Tsonga will have more raw power than the skillful Seppi, who never seemed to quite believe that he could score a major upset.

Federer played better but still came close to going two sets behind before winning 5-7, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 against impish world No 109 Goffin, who only got into the main draw as a lucky loser replacement for the injured Gael Monfils after being defeated in the final round of qualifying.

Appearing young enough for his voice not to have dropped, he had looked a sweet ball striker in Glasgow, but never as good as he looked, when he showed no nerves against a player he admits to have idolised a child, having Federer posters on his bedroom wall.

At 5-4 in the second set he missed a relatively straightforward backhand that would have given him two points for it, and after that Federer quickly asserted his superiority as the younger man tired.

Goffin got a huge hand from the crowd and it was strange to think that he will not even be a direct entrant into Wimbledon this year, although he must surely be a prime candidate for a wildcard.

What he and Seppi will have been reminded of, like so many others, is that no matter how out of sorts the likes Federer and Djokovic are, you simply cannot give them a sniff.

Azarenka, who has struggled since the start of the event, was beaten 6-2 7-6 in the fourth round by Slovakian fifteenth seed Dominika Cibulkova, showing her discomfort on clay, which may now jeopardise her world number one spot.

Asked how she would recover, she said jokingly (you hope) 'I'm going to kill myself.'

In fact, she will now take a break and does not plan to play a tournament until Wimbledon.

'I need to get rested mentally,' she added.

'Once I have my passion and desire back I'll be on the grass.'