Tennis Goliath brings down David

Twelve-time grand slam champion Roger Federer received a major boost of confidence when he barged back from a set down to triumph over David Nalbandian 5-7 6-2 6-2 and secure a spot in the semifinals of the ATP Masters Series Monte Carlo.

The opening set was a display of superb shotmaking as neither player faced a breakpoint up until the 11th game as Federer served to stay in the set. The top seed then produced a number of errors to let the Argentine gain the upperhand with a one-set-to-none lead.

But the loss of that opening set apparently spurred on the world number one when he immediately broke Nalbandian's serve in the second set. Nalbandian however responded by breaking back in the next game but unfortunately struggled to maintain his level of play. He thereafter surrendered his next two service games to allow Federer to clinch the set at 6-2.

The deciding set was no different from the previous one as Nalbandian failed to recover and continued to fade miserably as the Swiss showed his class to produce sublime winners off his racquet. Federer then fittingly closed out the match by breaking Nalbandian's serve for a fifth time, roaring with delight after firing a running forehand past the hapless Nalbandian.
The resurgent Swiss now joins the other top three players of the ATP tour in the semis where he will face world number three Novak Djokovic of Serbia. World number two Rafael Nadal of Spain and world number four Nikolay Davydenko of Russia face off in the other semifinals match.
Photo credits: AP Photo/Claude Paris (top right) and Stephane Danna/AFP/Getty Images (bottom)