Can The Djoker Be Stopped?

Can anyone stop the Joker on his way to the title?

After over a week and a half of French Open tennis the Men’s Semi final lineup has been confirmed. A real treat is to see that the top 4 Men’s seeds have made it to the semis, which sets up some mouth watering matches.

It is no surprise to see the in form Novak Djokovic making it this deep into the tournament. The Serb has barely been tested, dismissing some quality players on route to the semis.

Novak is chasing two things at this years French Open, there’s obviously the French Open title but also the world number one ranking should he make the final. His incredible season to date has seen him claim seven titles including the Australian Open whilst not losing a match.

The man standing in Novak’s way is the former world number one Roger Federer. The sixteen time Grand Slam champion is the last person to defeat Djokovic, which was at last season’s ATP World Tour finals. Federer has gone through the tournament under the radar for once and is yet to drop a set.

If there ever was a time for Roger to step up and prove that he still has a major in him then its now. Ever since his straight sets loss to Djokovic at the Australian Open, it has made me question if Federer has what it takes to keep up with the worlds best. He definitely has the game to beat them, however he seems to make too many unforced errors, which is very unlike Federer.

So can he do it?

He has shown some good form at this years open and will want to get revenge following his Semi Final exit at the Australian Open. I feel this one may go four of five sets with Federer producing his best tennis to defeat the Serb and his streak.

The other Semi sees the five time champion Rafael Nadal take on the number four seed Andy Murray.

For many years now we have seen Nadal dominate at the French, however this year he seems to be less confident. Asked at a press confidence whether he can win the tournament, Nadal responded.

“I am not confident. I am not playing enough well to win this tournament at the level of today” he said.

The two defeats to Djokovic on clay leading up to the French seem to be playing on Nadals mind and he sounded like a beaten man already. However, it could be just Nadal playing the mind tactics leading into the finals. At the end of the day he is Rafael Nadal and he knows beating him over five sets at the French is going to be a tough task for anyone.

He faces Andy Murray in the semi’s who has found some form on clay this season. After his straight sets Australian Open final loss to Djokovic it was no surprise that Andy suffered in confidence and his form after the tournament backed that up. However he has surprised many with the way he has bounced back especially on clay.

Can he beat Nadal though, probably not. I expect Murray to put up a decent fight however Nadal will be too strong in the end.

These semi finals have the potential to be very exciting matches, especially with so much at stake. Can Djokovic continue his amazing run, capturing the number one ranking and the French Open title. Or will Roger Federer prove all the doubters wrong and show that he can still Grand Slams. Will Rafael Nadal continue his amazing record at Rolland Garros and claim a sixth title in seven years. And will Andy Murray surprise everyone, even himself and win his first ever Grand Slam in Paris. It promises to be a very exciting few days of tennis.