Passing shots: Fueled by home crowd, Monfils takes flight in Paris

Since Yannick Noah became the first Frenchman to win at Roland Garros in the Open era, it's been a long and frustrating quarter century for local tennis fans.

But 26 years after Noah's victory, another excitable French hero is making his mark at the hometown tournament.

Gael Monfils, a spry 22-year-old from the Paris suburb of Bobingy, reached the quarterfinals Monday with his clinical 6-4, 6-2, 6-3 victory over Andy Roddick. With the looming darkness compromising the strategies and time management of both players, the hot-blooded, fist-pumping Monfils needed only 111 minutes to halt Roddick's best showing at the French Open.

Monfils, who nearly pulled out of the tournament with a swollen left knee, hoped to complete the match Monday to ensure a full day of recovery time before the quarterfinals. Roddick, on the other hand, lobbied the umpire for a postponement as early as the second set, complaining about the limited visibility.

"I knew we had something like one-and-a-half hours or one hour and 45 minutes," Monfils told reporters. "A bit of a stress on me, but I'm happy I made it."

Monfils wowed the crowd with his impossible court coverage, chasing down return after booming return from Roddick -- sure winners on any other surface -- and limiting his American opponent to just 58 percent of the points on his first serve.

Next up for the 11th-seeded upstart is a rematch with Roger Federer, who eliminated Monfils in last year's semifinals. Federer, seeking his first French Open title, is a sentimental favorite to match Pete Sampras' record of 14 Grand Slam titles this week. But he may take a backseat Thursday against the passionate hometown favorite.

"I hope they're going to support me. I'm French. We're in France," Monfils said. "[The crowd] is something that gives me loads of energy and wings. I have wings."

Two days after stunning Rafael NadalSweden's Robin Soderling rolled past Nikolay Davydenko in straight sets Tuesday to secure a place in the semifinals.

Soderling showed no signs of a letdown after derailing Nadal's quest to win a record fifth consecutive French Open title. Nadal still shares the record with Bjorn Borg, who won four in a row from 1978-81.