BY TW Contributing Editor Rosangel Valenti
Good morning. As usual, this will act as your gathering-place for discussion of the action in today's semifinals in Monte Carlo. Today's Order of Play in singles (after one of two doubles semifinals) begins with Rafael Nadal's encounter with Nikolay Davydenko. The two have met three times, with their head-to-head 2-1 in Nadal's favour. Davydenko won their last encounter, in the final of the last Masters Series event in Key Biscayne, in straight sets, and was also one of only three men to take even a set from Nadal on clay in 2007, during their memorable semifinal in Rome. Their first meeting took during the Round Robin stage at the Shanghai Masters Cup in 2006, and also went to three sets.
Roger Federer next takes on Novak Djokovic, in an eagerly-anticipated rematch following Djokovic's straight-sets defeat of Federer in their semifinal at this year's Australian Open. Their head-to-head stands 5-2 in the Swiss's favour, Djokovic's other victory having occurred in the final in Montreal last summer, over three sets. Of their seven meetings, four have taken place in the best-of-five format. The best-of-three-setters have all gone the distance, including a meeting in the first round in Monte Carlo in 2006, when Djokovic was unseeded, ranked 67.
Today's singles line-up is an echo of last year's Roland Garros semifinals, when the same four men competed for places in the finals, with pairings reversed. On that occasion, Federer achieved a tight straight-sets victory over Davydenko, and Nadal edged out Djokovic, also in straight sets. A lot has happened since then. The world number one and number two are both looking for revenge for recent defeats at the hands of the lower-ranked players.
Following the conclusion of the singles, the second doubles semifinal, incidentally, also features Rafael Nadal, paired with Tommy Robredo.
As always, enjoy today's tennis.