Well well well, the French Open is now at the business end and today we had the two ladies semi finals matches, which would determine who would reach the final so here's more on that...
OK the first match was between the Italian Sara Errani, the 21st seed, who has had a very impressive run so far, and Sam Stosur, who was the finalist at the French Open two years ago (to another Italian Francesca Schiavone). And the match was a very entertaining and competitve one, with Errani, who had never beaten Stosur before, taking it to her and producing some of her best tennis taking the very tight first set, before Stosur fought back in the 2nd, breaking twice, however in the 3rd, Errani re-established herself and pulled off a big win against the World No.6, and reached her first ever grand slam final, winning in 7-5, 1-6, 6-3. This was a terrific effort from Sara Errani, and her progress through the French Open has been so impressive, not only in the singles but also the doubles, as she into the doubles final as well, so it would be quite something if she could do a double whammy. But all that depends on her other opponent in the final.
So this brings me onto the second match of the day, as Maria Sharapova took on Petra Kvitova, in what promised to be a very close match. However it proved to be quite the opposite as Sharapova came out really strong, hitting the ball flat and clean, whereas Petra struggled really badly in the windy conditions on the court, and leaked too many errors, as she was broken in both sets, and fell at the hands of the mighty Pova who secured her first Roland Garros final, winning the match in 6-3, 6-3. This match was a bit of a letdown, but it did show how impressive Sharapova has been throughout the tournament, and just how determined she is to complete her career slam, which she will if she wins the French Open on Saturday. Not only that but Sharapova has now regained the World No.1 spot, for the first time in four years, so combined with reaching the final, not a bad day's work at the office.
As for the final for the ladies, who do I think stands the best chance of winning? Well for me it has to be Sharapova, as she has already won three slams, and has that experience behind, she also the bigger game, and the heavier weight of shot, as she creams the ball and can blast many players off the court. Errani however does have a very creative game and has the ability to take away any ryhthym from Sharapova, and if the conditions are windy on Saturday, then that will favour her more than Sharapova. Also there is a chance that Sharapova might feel the pressure of trying to go for her career slam, and she let's face it, made a bit of a muck of her last two slam finals. But overall Sharapova is the hot favourite to win, but I would love to see Sara Errani win it, as it would complete her fairytale run at the French Open, and she has also won three clay court titles coming into Roland Garros as well, so she can use your experience on clay to try and upset the odds. Plus the two of them, have never played before, and there's nothing more dangerous than playing an opponent you have never played before (well so I've heard, I don't really know!). Whichever way it goes, it will be a historical final for both ladies, and will be worth a watch.
Anyway tomorrow we have a real treat as the mens semi finals take place, and there are four not too shoddy players on court. First up we will have an all Spaniard semi final with Rafa taking on David Ferrer, who put out Andy Murray in the quarter finals. And the two of them are no strangers to each other as this will be their 20th meeting, however the odds are overwhelmingly in Rafa's favour, especially as he has won 14 of their encounters so far. But one thing will be for sure is that it will be a very tight close match, and while Ferrer isn't quite in the same class as Rafa, he won't give him an inch, and he will make Rafa fight for his place in the final. So I predict it will be a very tough match, but Rafa will win in either 3 very tight sets, or in 4 sets. Whatever way it goes, it promises to be a real belter.
Which leaves the second semi final of the day, which will be a re-match of the incredible 2011 semi-final between Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer. Last year, Fedora played one of his best matches in years to take down Djokovic, ending his 41 match winning streak in 2011 in the process. But this year its hard to say how it will go, as both players haven't exactly been playing their best this year at the French, as Federer has dropped 5 sets already over the last 4 matches, and Djokovic has been taken the distance in his last two matches. So in a way it levels the plane field a bit, as neither player is playing that much better than the other, so it will be just a case of who will play the better tennis tomorrow. But for me I would have to pick Djokovic to win, as he is so determined to reach his first final at Roland Garros. It will also mean that he has a chance to win the title and hold all four grand slams at the same time (four in a row). But in order to do it, he will have to go through Rafa, but we can save that for another day.
Anyway plenty more exciting stuff tomorrow, and I will report back on it when its over.
So that is that.
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