Hi everyone. This is today's post for discussing the semifinals happening in Rome today - or any of the current WTA matches. As usual we ask that you keep the discussion focused on tennis while the matches are going on. Afterwards it's OK to drift off-topic.
Semifinal number one - Roger Federer versus Novak Djokovic - takes place at 1.30 p.m. local time (7.30 a.m. EST). It's just four weeks since Djokovic and Federer met in another Masters Series semifinal, in Miami. Djokovic won 3-6, 6-2, 6-3, but not before the Swiss had broken a racquet.
With both players having struggled with confidence lately, it's a matchup I'm looking forward to - in many ways it's Djokovic's matches against the rest of the Big Four that currently intrigue me most. On clay you could say that there's a questionmark over who is currently the second-best player in the world - and I'm not including Andy Murray in that discussion, much as I'd like to see him face either of these two players on clay this year. As it happens, Djokovic and Federer have never played each other at Roland Garros - it's always been Nadal who's delivered the coup de grâce to the Serb there. In fact, Djokovic has never lost to anyone other than Nadal in his three attempts at Roland Garros so far, and has always reached a quarterfinal or better there. His form on clay so far in 2009 looks good. However, the overall head-to-head between the Serb and the Swiss stands at 7-3 in Federer's favour, including their only two matches on clay to date. With just three weeks to go before the French Open this is potentially a very big match for both players. Djokovic is also playing in the knowledge that if he doesn't win the tournament in Rome this week, Andy Murray will take over his number three spot a week on Monday.
