Roger Federer 'at home' against Jo-Wilfried Tsonga

Roger Federer's route towards a second French Open title will pit him against yet another Frenchman in the quarter-finals, although judging by the way his fourth-round win was received on Sunday, he may feel like he is the one playing at home.

The 17-time grand slam champion beat the 15th-seeded Gilles Simon of France 6-1, 4-6, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 to reach his 36th consecutive major quarter-final, and next takes on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the last eight today.

"It's been an amazing run, and I'm happy I'm still on it," the 31-year-old Federer said.

The win over Simon was more difficult than his victory over Frenchman Julien Benneteau in the third round. The crowd gave Simon an ovation when he trudged off centre court, but there seemed to be an air of relief that Federer had stayed on course to repeat his 2009 French Open win.

That was evident in the sixth game of the fourth set, when he turned potential defeat into victory by breaking Simon for a 4-2 lead, and in the fifth set when he broke for a 2-0 lead.

"Of course I would like to have had more support," Simon said. "If I don't get it here, I won't ever get it."