It's the match-up that every tennis fan has been waiting to see since the French Open began on May 25.

The semi-final between world No.2 Rafael Nadal and No.3 Novak Djokovic has an even greater significance than reaching another Grand Slam title. It is a match which will ultimately decide the players' positions in the new ATP rankings, which will be released next Monday morning.

Rafa has been dominating the rankings with world No.1 Roger Federer for the past three years - until this year that is. Ever since Djokovic won his first Grand Slam tournament in Australia at the beginning of 2008, the young Serb has constantly been chipping away at the gap between himself and his two more experienced rivals.

'Nadal loves Roland Garros and it will take a formidable opponent to dethrone him'


Although Federer is still out on top by a big enough margin, Nadal is perilously close to losing his No.2 ranking. Tthe Spaniard has had another consistent year with victories in Hamburg, Monte Carlo and Barcelona. But Djokovic has been in even better form, taking the titles in Masters Series events in Indian Wells and Rome as well as the Australian Open. He reached the semi-finals in both Monte Carlo and Hamburg. too. to keep close to his Spainsh rival.

Both men have also been in good form so far during the French Open. Nadal has yet to lose a set and seems to be getting better and better as the tournament continues, losing hardly any games in his last two matches against fellow Spaniard Fernando Vedasco and even more impressively Nicolas Almagro, whom he defeated 6-1, 6-1, 6-1.

He just loves Roland Garros and it will take a formidable opponent to dethrone the three-time defending champion. Can Novak be that brilliant opponent? Has he got the patience, the grit and determination of the Spaniard or simply the clay-court skills of Rafa? Let's hope so, because then and only then will we see a fantastic match between the two.

The pair have played each other 10 times with Nadal leading 7-3. All three of Djokovic's wins have come on his favoured hard-court surface while Nadal has won four of his victories on the European clay-court circuit, including a three-set classic in Hamburg only a couple of weeks ago.

The Serb needs to play an attacking game against Rafa. Last year Nadal won 7-5, 6-4, 6-2 against Djokovic but the Serb is hungry to even the score. A positive outcome would not only mean his first French Open final but also the world No.2 ranking he so dearly wants.

It's a great time for men's tennis at the moment. With the women's game still coming to terms with the shock retirement of Justine Henin, the men's game is going from strength to strength.

I think it is highly unlikely that Djokovik will win the semi-final, but he is certainly going in the right direction to take over as world No.1.