Stan Wawrinka put himself in the reckoning for a fourth grand slam title with an extraordinary victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas at Roland Garros.

The pair battled for five hours and nine minutes on Court Suzanne Lenglen before Wawrinka eventually triumphed 7-6 (6) 5-7 6-4 3-6 8-6 to set up a quarter-final clash with his countryman Roger Federer.

The 2015 champion was twice a set up against the young Greek pretender, but Tsitsipas showed again what a superb competitor he is to fight back, and it was the 20-year-old who looked like he would move ahead in the deciding set.

But Wawrinka dug in to save eight break points  – he saved 22 of 27 in the match – and then took his second match point when the umpire confirmed a backhand had caught the edge of the line.

The 34-year-old has battled back from knee surgery nearly two years ago and only recently has begun to show his best form again.

He said: "Playing in front of such a crowd, such a big atmosphere, five-set match in a grand slam, that's the reason why I came back from the surgery. Because I love and enjoy to play in front of people, to play in the biggest tournaments you can play. Today was something really special."

The emotions were very different for a devastated Tsitsipas, who said: "I feel exhausted. I've never experienced something like this in my life. I felt very disappointed at the end. It's a long time since I cried after a match, so emotionally it wasn't easy to handle. I will try to learn from it as much as I can.

"I was so close. I gave him room to do whatever he likes, all those break points. I didn't play. I was expecting someone else to play it for me."

The true winner of the match may well turn out to be Federer, who coasted to a 6-2 6-3 6-3 victory over Leonardo Mayer and is yet to drop a set.

His last match at Roland Garros prior to this year's clay-court comeback was in the quarter-finals in 2015, when he was beaten by Wawrinka in straight sets.

"I have some bad memories against Stan in 2015," said Federer. "He beat me in three sets with his terrible shorts."

Wawrinka's check shorts became one of the stories of the tournament as he went on to win his second slam title.

Federer has won 22 of their 25 meetings overall, but Wawrinka's three victories have all come on clay.

"We know each other very well, we have played a ton of matches against each other," said Federer. "On clay, this is when it's been most tough for me against him.

"I'm just happy for the guy that he's back after his knee problems. They were severe and that's why I think he's really happy he got sort of a second life on tour, because I think for a while he wasn't sure if he was ever going to come back again. It's nice to see him pain-free and playing well.

"I hope he's not at the level of '15, but we'll find out, because there he was crushing the ball. It was unbelievable."

Wawrinka said: "I think I crushed the tournament that year, so I'm happy with that memory. But it didn't happen many times in my life against him. Normally it's always the opposite.

"We all are happy that he's back on a clay court after a few years. It's going to be a big challenge. I will need to recover from today's match. I'm getting old, so it is not going to help. But I love that kind of challenge."

Defending champion Rafael Nadal, who celebrates his 33rd birthday on Monday, followed Federer onto Philippe Chatrier and matched his rival by beating Juan Ignacio Londero 6-2 6-3 6-3.

Nadal is still waiting to find out his opponent after the clash between Kei Nishikori and Benoit Paire was called off for the night with the Japanese player leading by two sets to one.