Rafael Nadal has won three consecutive French Open championships and his bid for a fourth will have to go through Novak Djokovic. Serbian star Djokovic won his first Major, the Australian Open, at the start of the year and is bidding for a calendar Grand Slam, which would be the first since Rod Laver’s in 1969.

Nadal is No.2 in the rankings, his opponent No.3, but here on this dirt Nadal is No.1. He’s never lost at Roland Garros – now 26-0 and just two wins away from becoming the first man since Bjorn Borg in 1978-81 to win the French Open four consecutive times.

Just over two weeks ago in the Hamburg semi-finals, Nadal and Djokovic treated tennis fans to three hours of brilliance and all-out fight on dirt. It was a display of both awesome and exhausting tennis. Nadal prevailed 7-5, 2-6, 6-2 as I believe he will again on Friday.

‘... it has the makings of an all-out war. And while Djokovic may win a set off Nadal, forcing the match to four sets, the Spaniard has too much pride to be beaten'


Nadal’s path to this collision has been ridiculously easy. He has yet to lose a set, playing past Thomaz Bellucci of Brazi, Nicolas Devilder of France, Jarkko Nieminen of Finland, Spain's Fernando Verdasco and another fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro. Even more impressive is that in seven of those sets he dropped but a single game.

Djokovic - nickname Nole - has had a more difficult row to hoe, including a 7-5, 7-6, 7-5 quarter-final against Ernests Gulbis of Latvia. Denis Gremelmayr of Germany pushed him to four sets in the first round, but Miguel Angel Lopez Jaen of Spain, the only man in the game with four names, was quickly sent packing 6-1, 6-1, 6-3 in round two. After American Wayne Odesnik made things a bit more difficult in the third round, Djokovic was relentless in straight-setting French hopeful Paul-Henri Mathieu before facing Gulbis to reach his second consecutive Roland Garros semi-final.

It should be a good match and could be another great match like the one in Hamburg. But Nadal, who leads in career meetings 7-2, will win. He is 113-2 in his last 115 matches on dirt. He is the undisputed King of Clay and he’s not leaving his throne any time soon.

Djokovic will make it competitive, maybe make it much more competitive than his Spanish opponent would care for, as he did in Hamburg. As much as Nadal went at Djokovic in Germany, grinding him down, the Serb fought right up until the end, saving four match points in the third set. Nadal-Djokovic has the makings of an all-out war. And while Djokovic may win a set off Nadal, forcing the match to four sets, the Spaniard has too much pride and is playing too well to be beaten here.

When it comes to comparing strokes, it can’t be done. Each player hits the ball differently. As an example, Nadal puts so much top on his forehand that he keeps the ball up around his opponent's shoulders. Djokovic hits his forehand flatter. It’s like the two guys are from different planets and when those planets collide the result can be captivating clay court tennis.

Djokovic is, perhaps, the better volleyer, but he will have to make his way to the net to take advantage of that. He is going to have to work his way in because he isn’t going to win from the baseline. He can end up playing 15 shots and never getting a point. That’s what happened to Almagro against Nadal. He won a game in each set and didn’t play badly but he ended up laughing. It looked like he was trying to say, “What's going on?”

Djokovic will have to push Nadal around and take chances. He will have to attack Nadal’s serve if there is an opportunity, while holding his own. He will be looking to see if he can work his way in. Nadal is susceptible to a low slice, but not many players today can execute that shot successfully against him. Opponents have to try to make Nadal bend – drop shots may work because he plays so far back.

To say that Nadal is mentally a gritty guy is a Grand Slam of an understatement. He should have quit in his match in Rome last month against Juan Carlos Ferrero since his wounded right foot with its blisters and cracks looked like a disaster area. But he played on, going down to defeat but failing on his terms, fighting the loss every painful step of the way.

Nadal is truly a great champion who will face a truly formidable opponent in Djokovic. I can’t imagine the victor on the court will not be Nadal but the biggest winner without question will be the sport itself.