We're down to the final four at Roland Garros. Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic have all made it through as predicted. But unexpectedly, so has 21-year-old Gael Monfils of France. With each player competing for so much more than the Grand Slam title itself, who will triumph?


Semi Final 1: Roger Federer (1) vs Gael Monfils

For a tennis champion who seems to have it all, Federer is chasing something that has eluded him thus far – a French Open title. He has 12 Grand Slams to his name, but not one of those wins has been achieved at Roland Garros.

However, this year more than ever before, Federer looks like he has what it takes to become the champion in Paris. After suffering what can only be called terrible form for the world No.1 at the start of 2008 (not claiming a single hard-court title win), he seems to have turned his fortunes around on clay and is currently performing in supreme fashion.

'One thing is for sure: If Monfils continues to play as he has done recently, then we are bound to witness a marathon of a match between him and Federer'


He is holding a 20-3 record on the red surface this year, and despite losing in two ATP finals to Nadal, his performance against the Spaniard is clearly improving; the first loss at Monte Carlo was 7-5, 7-5 whilst at Hamburg he managed to take a set and was defeated 7-5, 6-7(3), 6-3. For someone who is constantly improving the quality of their game, this shows promising potential.

Federer has only dropped two sets on his way to the semi-finals. If he continues to play as he has done, he should surely make the final and have one of his closest encounters with Nadal to date. But if he is indeed to make the final, and creep that much closer to Pete Sampras's record of 14 Grand Slam titles, Federer will first have to overcome the in-form crowd favourite, Monfils.

Nobody would have expected Monfils to come this far at Roland Garros. With only one title under his belt so far (the 2008 Challenger Marrakech), Monfils' previous best performances at a Grand Slam was to make the fourth round, which he did at the French Open in 2006. But all of that means nothing now to the former junior world No.1 if he continues playing the way he has done in the past week.

Monfils' form can best be described as sporadic and inconsistent. With an all-time high ranking of No.23 (achieved in June 2006), Monfils now currently stands at 59th in the world. He has beaten top players such as Andy Roddick, Lleyton Hewitt and James Blake in the past; however, such form has not been seen since mid-2007. But when he does play at his best Monfils has shown that he is a force to reckoned with, as this week's results have no doubt proven.

His wins over David Ferrer and Ivan Ljubicic display that he has the potential to be a top 10 player, but if Monfils is to achieve lasting success, he must maintain such form on a more permanent basis.

Federer holds a 3-0 record over Monfils, two of those victories having been achieved this year. But one thing is for sure: If Monfils continues to play as he has done recently, then we are bound to witness a marathon of a match between him and Federer. France will be dreaming with Monfils over the next few hours.

Prediction: Federer should win, but don't be surprised if he is taken to at least four sets.

Semi Final 2: Rafael Nadal (2) vs Novak Djokovic (3)

 Nadal is looking to win his fourth straight French Open title, a feat which has only been achieved in the past by the great Björn Borg. Recent injury fears aside, Nadal's form has been absolutely stellar on clay; of his last 115 matches on the surface, he has won 113 and lost only two. These results absolutely speak for themselves.

Nadal has yet to drop a set at this year's French Open and he made extremely light work in recent rounds of both Nicholas Almagro and Fernando Verdasco, some of the best players in the world. Furthermore, Nadal has lost just 25 games in five rounds, the lowest in any Grand Slam event in the open era.

With everything going his way, Nadal looks unstoppable right now. But there is more than just a final berth to play for – the World No.2 spot is up for grabs as well.

If Djokovic defeats Nadal in the semi final, he will become the new world No.2. He is already the current ATP points leader for 2008 after winning the Australian Open and three other titles, and many see him becoming No.1 in the very near future. But if he wishes to become No.2 first, Djokovic will have to beat Nadal in today's match.

After a shaky start to his French Open campaign, Djokovic's form has been thoroughly impressive, not dropping a single set since the first round. His performance on clay this year has also been superb, losing only two matches out of 18. Unfortunately, both of those losses came at the hands of Nadal. Still, Djokovic did manage to win the second set against Nadal at Hamburg before being beaten in a three-hour marathon, so there is definitely hope for him.

If he truly wants to leap forward in his quest to become the best in the world, Djokovic will have to overcome the best clay player in the world at Roland Garros.

Prediction: Nadal will probably be too good for Djokovic, but he may drop his first set of the tournament if the young Serb plays a strong match.

Join us in the coming days for a preview of the Grand Slam final. Until then, enjoy the tennis! Visit www.sportsbettingreview.co.uk for the latest sports and sport betting news, as well as accurate reviews of the Internet's leading bookmaker and sportsbook sites.