Jo-Wilfried Tsonga is through to the semi-finals of the Shanghai Rolex Masters after edging Kevin Anderson 7-6(6), 5-7, 6-4 on Friday.

The Frenchman is bidding to reach his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final since August 2014, when he defeated Roger Federer to win the Toronto title. In Saturday’s semi-finals he will face Rafael Nadal. Nadal leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head series 8-3, with Tsonga’s last win coming four years ago at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals.

It could have been very different for Tsonga, though, had new Top 10 member Anderson taken his chances in the first set. Trailing 3-6 in the first-set tie-break, Tsonga saved three set points as he reeled off five straight points to sneak the opener.

Anderson did not miss his opportunity in the second set, converting the only break point in the 12th game to level the match. Tsonga quickly regained the lead in the third set, though, breaking for a 2-1 advantage. The Frenchman fended off break back points in the fourth and sixth games before sealing victory in two hours and 41 minutes.

“It was a good match,” said Tsonga. “It was a good level, I think. We both played good tennis. I was really aggressive. I served really, really well today. I moved well. I’m just really happy to win today. It come at the good moment. It’s good to play like this.” 

The 29-year-old Anderson was looking to mark his first week in the Top 10 of the Emirates ATP Rankings by reaching his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final. The South African has a 42-21 record on the season, highlighted by winning his third ATP World Tour title in Winston-Salem (d. Herbert).

The 30-year-old Tsonga is through to the Shanghai semi-finals for the second time (also 2013). He is chasing his second ATP World Tour title in as many months, having triumphed recently at the Moselle Open in Metz (d. Simon). After the first three months of his season were hampered by injury, Tsonga has hit form in the second half of the year, reaching the semi-finals at Roland Garros (l. to Wawrinka) and the quarter-finals at the US Open (l. to Cilic).

“I am really happy to be back at the good level,” said Tsonga. “It’s good things for next year. The most important thing for me now is to stay healthy and continue to play and improve my game.”