Paris: The French Open has reached the final
stages as the big stars get set to clash with each other to get hold of
the coveted trophy. Rafael Nadal, who has won the title 7 times, is
chasing his 8th French Open title which is a record in itself whereas
Novak Djokovic gets set to show the world how he became number 1 by
defeating the giants of the game when he won his first tournament, the
2008 Australian Open.
Djokovic who announced his arrival as a top level player by
defeating Roger Federer and later Jo-Wifred Tsonga in the semi-final and
final of the 2008 edition of Australian Open looks in a better shape
than Nadal as they face each other in the semi-final of this year's
French Open. Nadal, who is coming back from injury, looked scratchy in
the beginning of the tournament as he dropped two sets in the first two
rounds of the tournament to unseeded opponents but now looks in good
shape as he brushed aside all the other opponents in straight sets. With
Nadal's fiercest rival, Roger Federer, out of the tournament after
losing to Tsonga, Nadal would be fancying his chances but needs to
overcome the ever so determined Novak Djokovic to win his 8th title.
Nadal also has statistics on his side as the stats show him as the more
dominant of the two. Nadal has won 19 games against his semi-final
opponent as compared to Djokovic's 15. As far as clay court is concerned
Nadal again beats Djokovic. Nadal has 13 wins over Djokovic whereas
Djokovic, who is chasing a career Grand Slam (winning all four majors),
has only defeated Nadal thrice on clay before. A win in the semi-final
and eventually the final would put Djokovic halfway ion the hunt for a
calender Grand Slam.
In the other semi-final clash, Tsonga, who is seeded 6th in the
tournament, would be facing world number 5 David Ferrer. Ferrer and
Tsonga have clashed thrice before with Ferrer leading the win count by a
margin of 2-1. They have faced each other just once at clay courts
before and Ferrer had managed to claim victory that time. Tsonga would
be looking to correct his mistakes and win the tournament this time
around as the Frenchman has come agonisingly close to winning a major
many a times but has faltered at the final steps.
In the women's division, Maria Sharapova who came from a set down
in her quarter final match against Jankovic to win the match, repeated
the same feat in the semi final as well as she came back from a set down
to defeat the world number 3 Victoria Azarenka in three sets and will
now face Williams who certainly has a mental edge over Sharapova as she
Sara Errani in straight sets in the semi final. Sharapova who has never
won against Williams in 12 outings would be hoping to put up her first
win on the board as she would be determined to defend her crown as the
queen of French Open.
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