One step closer to a career Grand Slam, Federer lauds wife's efforts in shaping his career Roger Federer, who is closing in on a career Grand Slam, believes his staggering success may have eluded him if it were not for his wife Mirka. 
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Roger Federer waves to the crowd after beating Tommy Hass in the fourth round of the French Open yesterday. PICS/AP, AFP</td></tr></tbody></table>The couple, who met at the Sydney Olympics in 2000, married in April and are expecting their first child in the summer. Before that, Federer could win a maiden French Open title and pull level with Pete Sampras's record of winning 14 Grand Slam crowns. As Mirka Vavrinec, Federer's wife was a regular player on the women's tour until serious injury pushed her out of the game. In the long term, that's been to his benefit. "She helped me considerably, as a person. I developed faster, grew faster with her. Thanks to her I was very calm in the important moments in my career. She is always supportive. I owe her a lot," said Federer. His wife is a regular spectator at matches and will be watching from the sidelines on Wednesday when he takes on Gael Monfils for a place in the semi-finals at Roland Garros. She will also be there should he prevail on Sunday and become only the sixth man in history to win all four Grand Slams. Many in the game believe the shock defeat of four-time champion Rafael Nadal, who had defeated Federer in the last three finals, has cleared the path for the Swiss to finally achieve his lifetime dream. But his wife, plus the rest of his back-up crew, are not putting the pressure on him. "Mirka and the others have not come to me saying: 'Now you have to win this match, otherwise you will never do it, ever'." Federer, who came into his last 16 clash with Haas boasting an 8-2 winning record, was close to suffering his earliest Grand Slam defeat since losing in the third round here to Gustavo Kuerten in 2004. But the match turned when Haas, with a two-set lead, missed a chance to break in the eighth game of the third set which would have allowed him to serve for a famous victory. Federer, with one brilliant, inside-out forehand that landed just on the line, saved the break point and raced through the rest of the tie taking 14 of the next 16 games. "I thought that shot I made was probably the first good shot I had hit the whole match," said Federer. Paes Dlouhy in semi-finals Leander Paes kept the Indian challenge alive by advancing to the men's doubles semifinals with Czech Lukas Dlouhy yesterday. Third seeds Paes and Dlouhy thwarted a late challenge from fifth seeds Bruno Soares and Kevin Ullyett to win 6-2 7-6.

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I owe my tennis success to wife: Federer

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