Del Potro to face Federer in French Open semi-final

PARIS: Argentine fifth seed Juan Martin del Potro reached his first Grand Slam semi-final on Wednesday when he defeated Spain's Tommy Robredo 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 in the French Open quarter-finals.

Del Potro will face Roger Federer for a place in the final.

The Argentine had beaten Robredo, who was playing in his fifth Roland Garros quarter-final, on the only previous occasion the two had met in Madrid in 2007.

The 20-year-old was quickly into his stride on Wednesday breaking the Spaniard in the seventh game on his way to claiming the first set after 34 minutes.

He eased through the rest of the match although he needed five match points to wrap up the tie.