Roger Federer will only admire his record-breaking achievements when he quits tennis as he concentrates on plotting a path past Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in Tuesday's French Open quarterfinals.

Federer racked up his 900th career win in dramatic circumstances when he reached a 36th consecutive Grand Slam last-eight with a 6-1, 4-6, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3 win over French 15th seed Gilles Simon.

It was the 31-year-old's record-equaling 58th win at Roland Garros, although he did it the hard way, briefly staring at his earliest exit at a major since losing to Gustavo Kuerten in Paris in the third round in 2004.