Third seed Roger Federer will meet in-form Novak Djokovic for a place in the French Open final after beating home favourite Gael Monfils 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) in a low-quality quarterfinal match on Tuesday. The 16-time Grand Slam winner, who lost in the last eight last year following four straight final appearances, faces Djokovic after the second seed's scheduled quarterfinal opponent, Italy's Fabio Fognini, withdrew through injury.
"He (Monfils) is a superb player, so I knew the danger of this quarterfinal," said Federer after his sixth career victory over Monfils.
"I'm very happy to be in the semifinals."
Former world number one Federer, the 2009 champion, has made steady progress in the tournament to date and is yet to lose a set.
Djokovic, however, has beaten the great Swiss in their three previous encounters and requires just one more victory to level John McEnroe's 1984 record of 42 matches unbeaten at the start of a season.
A victory on Friday will also crown the Serb as the new world number one.
"Playing a semifinal here at Roland Garros is a great moment and playing such a great player is what we train for," added Federer.
Federer made an uncertain start amid windy, overcast conditions on Court Philippe Chatrier and was broken to love in his second service game.
The Swiss broke back immediately, however, thanks to a perfectly judged backhand drop shot that bit and died in the dust, before obliging the ninth-seeded Monfils to fight off three break points in the eighth game.
Seeded outside the top two at a Grand Slam for the first time since Wimbledon in 2003, Federer brought up two set points on Monfils' serve shortly afterwards and then clinched the first set when the world number nine put a forehand wide.
Following an exchange of breaks in the second set, Federer broke for a 4-2 lead when Monfils double-faulted, prompting the Frenchman to fling his racquet to the ground in disgust.
Both men were culpable of some dismal shot-making, but it did not prevent Federer from closing out the set when a stretching Monfils sent a backhand long.
Monfils saved three break points at 4-4 in the third set and two at 5-5, but swiftly fell 6-1 down in the ensuing tie-break and was finally beaten when Federer thrashed a forehand winner down the line.
Explosive West Indies opener Chris Gayle, who hasn't been included for the only Twenty20 International and first two ODIs against India, is yet to respond to the call from West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) top brass to sort out the differences in order to be eligible for selection in the national team. 
Shilpa Shetty and Raj Kundra own a sprawling six-bedroom Woodlawn Cottage on the exclusive estate of the St. George's Hill community in Weybridge, Surrey. Former residents of the estate include singer Elton John, former Beatle Ringo Starr and Hollywood actress Kate Winslet. 
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday revoked the No Objection Certificate (NOC) granted to Shahid Afridi that will prevent the retired cricketer to play in county cricket and other Twenty20 leagues. 
Bahrain Grand Prix organisers have asked Formula 1's governing body to reschedule rather than cancel its race. 
India and Pakistan on Tuesday failed to agree on the modalities for demilitarisation of Siachen but decided to continue talks to arrive at a solution to one of the major vexed issue. 
A former nanny to Arnold Schwarzenegger and his wife Maria Shriver has claimed that the governator had a wandering eye, but never got physical with her or any other female staffer. 
Defending champion Francesca Schiavone fought back from a set and 4-1 down to beat Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova and reach the semi-finals of the French Open. 
Actress Julianna Margulies has admitted that she was secretly "thrilled" on being offered a movie role as a 'lesbian porn star', but turned it down for the sake of her young child. 
Spain has expressed anger at links being made between Spanish cucumbers and a deadly E. coli outbreak. 
US house prices fell in March, dipping below their 2009 low, as the housing market continued to be affected by weak demand, an index has shown. 
Manchester United midfielder Paul Scholes has announced his retirement from playing football but will remain at the club in a coaching capacity. 
The US administration has withdrawn the security and protocol given to former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf after a UN commission report blamed him for not providing adequate protection to slain former premier Benazir Bhutto. 
The Football Association and the Scottish Football Association have called for Fifa to postpone its presidential election. 
As many as 85 lakh salaried tax payers with an annual income of up to Rs 5 lakh will not have to file income-tax returns from now, a finance ministry official said. 
State-owned Indian Oil Corporation, the nation's largest fuel retailer, on Tuesday announced that petrol prices will go up by Rs 1.35 per litre with effect from June 1. 
Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL), the operator of IGI airport, is offering "park and fly" facility to the passengers flying out of Terminal 3. 
Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan on Tuesday denied any 2G link and said that Cineyug Films Director Karim Morani is not an investor in his film production company Red Chillies Entertainment. 
The Indian team that won the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 has been felicitated at the BCCI Awards ceremony on Tuesday in Mumbai. Each member of the team was presented with a cheques of Rs. 2 crore. 
Lethargic at times and brooding at others, Andy Murray worked his way into the French Open quarterfinals by coming back to beat Victor Troicki 4-6, 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 on Tuesday in a match that started a day earlier. 
A Peruvian man has been arrested at Bangkok's international airport after an x-ray allegedly revealed he had more than a kilogram of cocaine concealed in his stomach. 
A 19-year-old Muslim girl was stoned to death in Ukraine under the Islamic Sharia law after she took part in a beauty contest, a media report said on Tuesday. 
Grand Slam tennis tournament Wimbledon is going the 3D way. 
An Andheri-based 'friendship club', a well-known euphemism for prostitution rackets, was raided on Monday and the owner arrested by the Mumbai Police Commissioner's Special Squad after they received several complaints of him cheating customers. Prasad Patkar (42) allegedly ran the prostitution racket under the guise of a friendship club out of a ground floor flat of a building near Navrang Cinema at JP Road, Andheri (West). Senior Inspector Rakesh Sharma of the Special Squad said more than 200 portfolios of small-time models, 21 mobile phones, laptops, television sets, several pan cards, cheque books and credit cards were recovered from him. 
Anticipating a huge demand for undergraduate medical admissions this year, private medical universities and colleges in Tamil Nadu have jacked up charges for MBBS admission - application forms, tuition fee and the illegal capitation fee. 
Intel unveiled a new category of laptops that it says will include the best features of tablets as the world's top chipmaker struggles to find its footing in the exploding market for mobile gadgets. 
Maruti Suzuki in a meeting held with the Gujarat Chief Minister, Mr Narendra Modi, on Tuesday expressed its intention to set up a manufacturing plant in the state having production capacity of 10 lakh units per annum, expandable up to 20 lakh. 
Mobile phone maker Nokia Oyj slashed its sales and profit outlook on Tuesday and scrapped forecasts for 2011 due to tumbling prices and intense competition, sending its shares crashing 15 per cent. 
Move over A Raja; it's time for Dayanidhi Maran to face the 2G fire. 
Suresh Raina, India's skipper for the limited-overs series in West Indies, said on Tuesday that it was a great honour for him to have been appointed as the captain of the national side for the tour. 
There is good news for superstar Rajinikanth's fans. He is responding well to the treatment and is in good health. 
At least 30 people have been killed and many more are said to have suffered serious injuries in two separate bus accidents in Assam today. (See Pics) 
A Sunday school teacher is concerned that his students might be a little confused about Jesus, so he asks his class, "Where is Jesus today?" 
Preparation time: 10 minutes . Cooking time: 15 minutes . Serves 6. 
The Thai soup with the intriguing flavour of lemon grass. 
Tired of the daily grind? Have daily chores become so mechanical and boring, you can do them with your eyes closed? Give fresh direction to your life with a hobby. 
Here's the hot list of the twelve top things to wear, watch and do this summer. Check it out! 
Breakfast 
Russian seventh seed Maria Sharapova, the former world number one, edged Polish 12th seed Agnieszka Radwanska 7-6 (7/4), 7-5 to take her place in the French Open quarterfinals on Monday. 
Shahid Afridi, Pakistan's captain at the 2011 World Cup, is reported by Geo TV in Pakistan to have announced his 'conditional' retirement from the international game.