Roger Federer beats Jo-Wilfried Tsonga to reach Monte Carlo semi-finals

Roger Federer is two victories away from clinching the Monte Carlo Masters title after beating Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 2-6 7-6(6) 6-1 in the quarter-finals.

The former world number one struggled in the opening set when Tsonga took the first break of serve in the contest.

Federer squandered three break points of his own and relinquished the opening set, but it was a tighter affair in the second as games went by the way of serve in the early stages.

The set was eventually decided by a tie-break, which Federer was able to edge, despite some strong shots across the court from his French opponent.

Tsonga stumbled in the third set by losing an early break and he was unable to recover as Federer restricted his competitor to just one game.