Story highlights
- Roger Federer turns tables on Argentina's Juan Martin Del Potro
- Federer lost to Del Potro in Basel final but won quarterfinal clash in Paris
- He will face Novak Djokovic for place in final of the Masters 1000 event
- Rafael Nadal beats Richard Gasquet to reach semifinals
Revenge proved sweet for Roger Federer and now he has World No.2 Novak Djokovic in his sights at the Paris Masters.
Federer lost in Sunday's final of his hometown tournament in Basel to Juan Martin Del Potro but fast forward five days and the Swiss maestro turned the tables in another tight three set encounter in the French capital.
The 6-3 4-6 6-3 victory earned him a semifinal clash with Djokovic, who earlier dispatched Federer's compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka in straight sets.
"That's definitely good for my confidence, because those are the kind of wins I need right now," Federer told the ATP Tour website.
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"It was clearly a huge victory, giving myself a chance to be in the semis here, and playing Novak is clearly very exciting,
"I think I did well today to start stronger this time around in the third set. It was something I couldn't quite do in Basel," added the 32-year-old.
Federer, whose form has fallen away during the latter part of 2013, has renewed confidence after booking his passage to next week's ATP Tour Finals in London for a 12th straight time.
"I prefer playing him now than four months ago. I'm more confident now and I believe again in my chances. But if I had played a few weeks ago or a few months ago, I might have thought that I was not sure," he revealed.
Djokovic, in fine form on the indoor circuit, is fully aware of the danger that Federer still poses.
"Roger is probably experiencing the worst season that he had in last 10 years, but he's still a player to beat in every tournament, because he's Roger Federer, because he has won 17 Grand Slams, and we all know how successful a career he has," he said after his easy win over Wawrinka.
The pair have not faced each other since Djokovic beat Federer in the title match of last year's ATP World Tour Finals in London.
World No.1 Rafael Nadal joined his arch rivals in the last four with victory in the first match of the evening session Friday against home favorite Richard Gasquet.
Nadal won 6-4 6-1 with a dominant display and will face Spanish compatrot David Ferrer. He is chasing a record sixth Masters title in one season.
Defending Paris champion Ferrer beat Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 4-6 7-5 6-3 to reach the semifinals.
