upset the twelfth seeded Fernando Gonzalez of Chile 6-3, 7-5, 5-7, 4-6, 6-4.

If Federer can defeat Soderling Sunday in the men's championship final, he will tie the American Pete Sampras' all time leading grand slam crowns at fourteen.

However Sampras failed to impose his game on the claycourts at Paris as he never advanced past the French Open semifinals.

From 1988 to 2002, Sampras won two Australian Opens, seven Wimbledons and five U.S. Opens. Since turning professional in 1998, Federer has won three Australian Opens, five Wimbledon and five U.S. Opens. Federer's five U. S. Open titles have come in the last five years in a row where in New York he has won a stunning 35 matches in a row.

Sampras won 64 career titles while Federer has so far won 58 with it's safe to say more to come. Federer and Sampras both topped the ATP Tour rankings for more than 200 weeks each.

A French Open title for Federer would surely be a tiebreaker in his behalf in otherwise similar grand slam and career records.

“There’s still one more step,” Federer said. “There are no easy grand slam finals.”

Federer is 9-0 versus his French Open final round opponent Soderling and has not lost a set to the Swede since 2005. Last month in Madrid, Federer defeated Soderling 6-1, 7-5.

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