Federer is back with a chance at Roland Garros

And his teary reaction after the loss to Rafael Nadal in this year's Australian Open final made many wonder if his best days were forever behind him.

But Federer is back in the chase again at the French Open, stretching his record to 98-0 through the first five rounds of the last 20 major tournaments, and he is two wins away for both completing a career Grand Slam and tying Pete Sampras all-time record of 14 major titles.

"I thought I played great in Australia," Federer said after beating Gael Monfils in straight sets to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament for a record 20th straight time. "For some reason, just because I lost in five, people think I played terrible at the Australian Open. It's not the case.

"I played great in Australia and ran into Rafa, who played phenomenal tennis. Unfortunately I didn't play a great fifth set, but he took advantage and got it."

Federer, who plays Juan Martin del Potro today, won't have to worry about Nadal this year at Roland Garros. The four-time defending champion from Spain lost in the fourth round to big-serving Robin Soderling, who will face Fernando Gonzalez in the other semifinal.

Soderling may be the biggest surprise of the four remaining players, and he might just have had the toughest road to get there.

Before beating Nadal in four sets, he eliminated 14th-seeded David Ferrer of Spain in four. In the quarterfinals, Soderling beat No. 10 Nikolay Davydenko in straight sets.

"If you'd ask me, like, four years ago, I'd say I will never reach a semis in Paris," said the 24-year-old Soderling, who had never before even reached the fourth round at a major. "But for every year, I think I started to play better and better on clay."

Today, he'll be coming up against another player with a hard serve and a big forehand in Gonzalez, who lost to Federer in the final in Australia in 2007.

Of the four semifinalists, Federer is only player to have won a Grand Slam title. In fact, he's the only player to have previously appeared in the French Open semifinals, losing to Nadal in that round in 2005 and then falling to the top-ranked Spaniard in each of the last three finals.