Novak Djokovic will take on Rafael Nadal in the semis of the French Open – Tennis preview
Top seed, Novak Djokovic, will square off against the former world number one, Rafael Nadal, in the final four at the Court Philippe Chatrier on Friday. The Serbian ace triumphed over the former world number two, Tommy Haas, in
straight sets at this Major clay court event held in Paris, France. On the other hand, Nadal also displayed superb skills and dumped the ninth seed, Stanislas Wawrinka, with a breadstick.
The world number one, Djokovic lost only a single set against 16th seeded Philipp Kohlschreiber en route to semis. He penned down a 6-3, 7-6(5), 7-5 victory against the evergreen Haas and secured a spot in the final
four. The Serb played flawlessly as he smashed 11 aces and did not spill any double fault.
In addition to this, Djokovic clobbered a better first serve share of 64 per cent and impressively marked 41 out of 50 points on it. He also showed amazing defensive skills as he warded off both breakpoints he came across. Djokovic
converted five out of 12 break opportunities to his advantage to rule the match.
Djokovic reflected about his upcoming battle against the defending champion, "Now I have a big challenge in front of me, and I'm ready for it. I have been playing well. I know that this is the biggest challenge for me in Roland
Garros, no question about it, and I'm sure that it's going to be quite a good match.”
Nadal is also on fire at this second of the four Grand Slam events. He lost his opening set in the first two matches. However, the Mallorcan lifted his game and recorded straight set victories in his last three battles. As a result,
he not only gained confidence but also stayed on track to become first player to capture the Roland Garros crown for the eighth time.
The Spanish top ranked star was quoted in a post match press conference, “So now I am in semi-finals, three matches in a row without losing a set. The last two matches, I only lost one [game on] serve. That's starting to be very
positive numbers.”
Seeded third in this event, Nadal outclassed the world number 10 in one hour and 56 minutes. He superbly fired 31 winners and did not commit any double fault en route to victory. The Spaniard lost his serve once but cashed seven
out of 12 break chances to steal the show.
Both stars previously battled each other at the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters where Djokovic dethroned the Spanish number one in straight sets. However, Nadal currently leads the FedEx ATP Head2Head series by 19-15 against the Belgrade
native.
The Serb is bidding to become the eighth man in history to complete the career Grand Slam. He cruised to victory in his opening clay court tournament at Monte Carlo. However, Djokovic lost the opener at the Mutua Madrid Open.
The left-handed Spaniard, on the other hand, has lost just two matches after returning from seven-month injury layoff. Nadal is expected to record a 7-5, 7-6(3), 4-6, 7-6(6) score line against the top seed.
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