Roger Federer looks to reach another career milestone when he faces Argentina's Juan Monaco at the Paris Masters.
Federer will look to become just the seventh player in history to reach 800 career wins on Friday after easing past Richard Gasquet 6-2, 6-4 on Thursday evening. The Parisian crowd were firmly behind Gasquet but his moments of inspiration were only fleeting and Federer never looked like being taken to a final set.
"I thought him coming back in the second set was something somewhat normal," Federer said afterwards. "He had some great shot making there, but unfortunate for me. Those were some incredible forehands he hit there, and he deserved to come back into the match then. For me it was key to stay calm and wait for my chance, and I was able to bounce right back."
"I hope I can make it [the final] this year. I feel like my game is good enough for it. But then, again, depends if Monaco and all the other players agree with that."
Monaco stands in the way of Federer and a second successive Paris semi-final. The Argentine has been in fine form recently, making the Valencia final last week but he was extremely fortunate to get through his third round clash with Mardy Fish. The American led 6-1, 6-7(6), 2-1 after missing two match points in the tiebreak but then had to retire with an abductor injury.
Federer leads 3-0 on the head-to-head and has beaten Monaco twice in 2011, most recently 6-1, 6-2, 6-0 at the US Open.
