Madrid Open: Federer saves two match points to beat Monfils enter quarterfinals

Federer will now face Dominic Thiem of Austria for a place in the semi-finals.

Madrid: Roger Federer saved two match points to defeat France's Gael Monfils 6-0, 4-6, 7-6 (7/3) on Thursday to reach the Madrid Open quarter-finals.

Monfils won just nine points in the first set, but led both the second and third sets by 4-1.

However, the 20-time Grand Slam winner Federer then saved match points in the 12th game before sweeping through the tiebreaker to record his 1,200th career win.Federer, playing his first clay court tournament in three years, will face Austrian fifth seed and recent Barcelona champion Dominic Thiem on Friday for a place in the semi-finals.