Roger Federer sets up Rafael Nadal clash in French Open semifinal
Age defying Roger Federer reached yet another semifinal at the French Open where he would meet his nemesis Rafael Nadal. In a battle of one handed backhands, Federer triumphed over his compatriot Stan Wawrinka in 4 sets. Federer who turns 38 in August was the oldest man to reach the quarter finals at the French Open when he took to the court Wawrinka. The world number 3 took the first in the tie breaker with Wawrinka breaking Federer once to take the second set.
With momentum on his side, Wawrinka broke Federer in the third set and showed no signs of fatigue of his 5 hour epic with Tsitsipas. But the 20 time champion was in no mood to let up as he broke Wawrinka to force the third set into a decider. Roger held his nerves in the tie-break winning in 7-5. Both players were on serve in the fourth set before rain decided to make its presence felt. Federer, who is playing at Roland Garros for the first time since 2015 showed no signs of rust on the red dirt.
Rafa Nadal at his ruthless best
Rafael Nadal improved to an inhuman 90-2 with 11 French Open’s in his trophy cabinet. The seventh seeded Kei Nishikori was no match for the King of Clay who romped to a straight sets win.
Fedal Rivalary renews
The Federer-Nadal rivalry which took tennis to greater heights because of their contrasting style of play will be renewed on Friday. The pair have met 38 times with Rafa holding the edge with 23 wins against 15 losses but it is Federer who has come out on top in the pairs last 5 meetings. The Spaniard however holds the edge over Federer on clay. Nadal would no doubt be the favorite when the duo meet on June 7 and if Federer has to have a chance against his nemesis then he needs to improve his break point conversion rate.
