Tue Jun 3 11:59:53 2008

Comment | Email | Print

Nadal, Djokovic to clash in semifinal showdown at Roland Garros

---

Paris, France (Sports Network) - For the third year in a row, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic will square off at the French Open after both stars posted predictable quarterfinal victories here on Tuesday.

The second-seeded reigning three-time French Open champion Nadal celebrated his 22nd birthday on Day 10 here by lambasting 19th-seeded fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro 6-1, 6-1, 6-1 on Court Chatrier. The helpless Almagro was appearing in his first-ever Grand Slam quarterfinal.

Nadal moved on in a mere 1 hour, 44 minutes with the help of a whopping eight service breaks, compared to zero for Almagro, who piled up 36 unforced errors, compared to only nine miscues for Nadal.

The high-flying Nadal has yet to drop a set at this 2008 fortnight and has not been pushed in any of his five matches.

Nadal has never lost in the main draw here, as he improved to a perfect 26-0 at Roland Garros. He's 113-2 on his beloved red clay overall since 2005, including victories over the great Roger Federer in the last two French Open finals.

Meanwhile, the third-seeded Djokovic got past rising 19-year-old Latvian Ernests Gulbis 7-5, 7-6 (7-3), 7-5 in 3 hours, 7 minutes on Court Lenglen. Gulbis, like Almagro, was also playing in his first Grand Slam quarter.

The 21-year-old Djokovic recorded twice as many breaks as Gulbis (4-2), while the Latvian misfired for 60 unforced errors, 24 more than the winner from Serbia.

Djokovic will face Nadal here on Friday.

Nadal is 7-3 lifetime against Djokovic, including 2-0 without dropping a set here at Roland Garros and a 4-0 overall mark on clay. The Spaniard beat the Serb in the quarterfinals here in 2006 and topped him in the semis last year.

The gritty Nadal and smooth Djokovic have split a pair of matches this season, with the Serbian taking a semifinal matchup at Indian Wells and Nadal claiming a semifinal victory on clay in Hamburg.

Djokovic will play in his fifth straight Grand Slam semifinal. He captured the Australian Open back in January and lost to Federer in last year's U.S. Open finale.

The quarterfinals will conclude here on Wednesday, when a top-seeded Federer takes on 24th-seeded Chilean Fernando Gonzalez and fifth-seeded Spaniard David Ferrer tangles with Frenchman Gael Monfils. Federer and Gonzalez will meet in a rematch of the 2007 Aussie Open final, which was won by the 12-time major titlist from Switzerland.

The reigning five-time Wimbledon and four-time U.S. Open champion Federer still needs the French Open to complete a career Grand Slam.