Roger Federer admits the huge weight of popular support behind his bid for a record-equalling 14th Grand Slam is making him nervous each time he steps out on court at Roland Garros.

The Swiss has lost three consecutive finals in Paris as the French Open remains the only slam he has yet to win.

After Rafael Nadal, Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic were all beaten, Federer is now the clear favourite and carries with him the hopes of the French public.

Even the native Gael Monfils struggled to win over the crowd as he lost in straight sets to Federer yesterday, after which the world No2 said: "Of course, I'm delighted to see to what extent they are supporting me. I feel like they've almost adopted me. I have felt it for a few years now, to be honest, but this year even more extreme.

"When I walk on the streets or go for dinner, everybody is like, 'this is your year. You've got to do it'.

"They're screaming from their scooters and out of the car. They even get out at the red lights and want me to sign an autograph or take a picture. It's quite incredible this last couple of weeks. We don't have a grand slam in Switzerland, but I definitely feel at home in the grand slams and especially here.It's also one of the reasons why I am nervous because the whole stories of Nadal losing, Murray losing, Djokovic losing, maybe opening up the draw a little bit.

"Obviously they also play with my mind, even though it doesn't affect me yet. I felt the nerves. On Tuesday I felt it and I felt it again against Gael."

Federer faces Juan Martin Del Potro in tomorrow's semi-final while Fernando Gonzalez meets Robin Soderling.

In today's women's semi-finals Dinara Safina plays Dominika Cibulkova and Samanatha Stosur is up against Svetlana Kuznetsova.