After a brief interruption when the players were locked at 5-5 in the opening set, Federer saved two set points in the tiebreak and held firm to gain the upper hand in the contest.
Will it be Rafa versus Djoko in Sunday's final?
Novak Djokovic continued his Wimbledon preparations by beating American Donald Young 6-2, 7-6(9) on Thursday to reach the semi-finals of the Aegon International tournament at Eastbourne.
Daniil Medvedev and Karen Khachanov crushed second seed Dominic Thiem and third seed Alexander Zverev respectively to set up an all-Russian semi-final at the Rogers Cup in Montreal on Friday.
Serena Williams and Naomi Osaka advanced to the Rogers Cup quarter-finals on Thursday to set up their first meeting since the American's infamous row with an umpire overshadowed last year's US Open final.
A summary of the matches from Day 9 at the French Open.
Alize Cornet fought tooth and nail but the local favourite's French Open run came to an end when she was knocked out 6-2, 7-6(9) in the fourth round by Ukrainian 19th seed Elina Svitolina on Sunday.
Serbia carved out a 2-0 lead over rivals Croatia while Britain led the US by the same score and holders Switzerland were tied with Belgium in the Davis Cup.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Tuesday
IMAGES from Australian Open matches played at Melbourne Park on Friday
It was the Russian's first competitive match since she withdrew from the St Petersburg Open in January.
Third seed Stan Wawrinka was sent packing in the round of 16 at the BNP Paribas Open in California on Wednesday and was very nearly joined by Rafael Nadal, who pulled off a Houdini-like escape to reach the last eight.
Belgium's Elise Mertens rallied from a set down to beat top seed Simona Halep 3-6, 6-4, 6-3 and clinch her first Premier-level title at the Qatar Open on Saturday.
India's date with legends of the tennis world ended after the likes of Roger Federer, Novak Djokovic, Pete Sampras and Goran Ivanisevic provided glimpses of their brilliance on Monday, the concluding day of the Delhi leg of the International Premier Tennis League. Manila Mavericks defeated Singapore Slammers 23-17 in the evening match while the Djokovic-led UAE Royals proved too hot for home team India Aces, winning 29-22.
Rediff.com brings you a glance of all the action from the week gone by.
Third seed Stan Wawrinka was knocked out in the third round of the Paris Masters when he lost 6-7(2), 7-5, 7-6(3) against South African Kevin Anderson on Thursday, suffering his fourth defeat in five matches.
World number five Alexander Zverev continued his poor recent form as he crashed out of the Italian Open in the second round while Serena Williams had to pull out of the women's draw with a recurring knee injury.
Marin Cilic completed a sensational set of semi-final shockers by upsetting 17-times Grand Slam winner Roger Federer 6-3, 6-4, 6-4 on Saturday to reach the final of the US Open. Croatian 14th seed Cilic's opponent in Monday's final will be 10th seed Kei Nishikori of Japan, who sent world number one Novak Djokovic out of Flushing Meadows with a stunning 6-4, 1-6, 7-6(4), 6-3 victory.
German 11th seed Angelique Kerber became the highest-ranked player to reach the women's quarter-finals after she outclassed Switzerland's Belinda Bencic 6-3, 7-6 (7-5) at Wimbledon on Monday.
Venus Williams staged a spirited comeback to down third seed Petra Kvitova 4-6, 7-5, 6-4 and reach the third round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells on Saturday.
India ended its campaign at the Fed Cup with a fourth place finish after losing the classification tie 1-2 to Korea as the team badly missed injured Karman Kaur Thandi, who did not play on Saturday, in Astana, Kazakhstan.
Defending champion Serena Williams is the top seed in the women's draw. The American will be looking to equal Steffi Graf's Open era record by sealing a 22nd Grand Slam triumph.
Nadal, playing his first match since losing to Roger Federer in the Wimbledon semi-finals, fell behind 5-2 in the tiebreak before roaring back to prevail in his first career meeting with world number 53 Evans.
Naomi Osaka continued her stunning run of form with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over 23-times Grand Slam champion Serena Williams in the first round of the Miami Open on Wednesday, the latest big win for the 20-year-old Japanese player.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Tuesday
The fifth-seeded Ukrainian reached her second straight Grand Slam semi-final after also making the last four at Wimbledon in July.
The top-seeded Serb, who had not dropped a set in four matches since the round of 16 at the Australian Open in January, looked out-of-sorts throughout the 98-minute contest.
Ramkumar Ramanathan fetched the crucial win but Yuki Bhambri made the day memorable even in defeat as India and Canada shared the honours on day one of the Davis Cup World Group Play-off tie, in Edmonton.
Playing better and with solid purpose this clay court season, Rafael Nadal is looking to win his 19th title at Roland Garros, says Desh Chopra Gaurav Sekhri, and will ask some difficult questions of anyone he is pitted against.
The veteran American set up a showdown with Romanian former world number one Simona Halep in Saturday's final.
Audacious coups by Andy Murray and Angelique Kerber have transformed the tennis landscape and they will begin 2017 eyeing the kind of domination that few would have thought possible at the start of a seismic year.
Photos from the matches played at the Miami Open on Monday
Maria Sharapova joined Serena Williams in making an early exit from the Australian Open on Monday but defending champion Victoria Azarenka swept into the quarter-finals with an 18th straight victory at Melbourne Park.
Former world number one Caroline Wozniacki eased into the semi-finals of the US Open on Tuesday with a ruthless 6-0, 6-2 win over wounded Latvian Anastasija Sevastova.
The Indian qualifier, who savoured his best ever performance on the ATP World Tour, went down fighting 4-6, 6-4, 3-6 against the world number 45 from South Africa in the quarter-finals played on Friday.
Big-serving Czech Karolina Pliskova cruised into the semi-finals of the BNP Paribas Open with a 6-3, 6-2 victory over Russian teenager Darya Kasatkina on Thursday.
Images from matches played on Day 4 of the Australian Open at Melbourne Park on Thursday
Milos Raonic overcame third seed Grigor Dimitrov 7-5, 3-6, 6-3 to reach the third round at the Madrid Open on Tuesday and set up an all-Canadian clash with teenager Denis Shapovalov.
Former champion Stan Wawrinka battled past Russian fourth seed Daniil Medvedev in five sets to reach the Australian Open quarter-finals with a 6-2, 2-6, 4-6, 7-6(2), 6-2 victory. Fifth seed Dominic Thiem kept his flawless record against Gael Monfils intact with a trouble-free 6-2, 6-4, 6-4 victory on Monday to reach his maiden Australian Open quarter-final.
Former world number one Garbine Muguruza was beaten 7-5, 6-4 by Aryna Sabalenka in the China Open second round on Tuesday while an ailing Jelena Ostapenko lost 6-0, 6-0 to Wang Qiang.
