Right! OK so now we get onto the men's semi finals action which saw two matches go on as the last four remaining players duked it out to try and reach the final. So who did it? Well let's find out.
SEMI FINAL MATCH - Djokovic vs Thiem
OK so the first match up was between Novak Djokovic and the young rising star, Dominic Thiem from Austria, who has had a stellar run at the French Open this year by reaching his first major semi final. Now this was a big ask on paper for the young Austrian to do anything against the dominant World No.1 and right enough the match itself proved to be the case as Nole bossed Thiem right from the get go. In the first set Thiem only managed two games as Novak seized the double break to take the lead, the second set was more of the same as Thiem amassed only one game. In the 3rd set however things got a bit more competitive as Thiem broke Djokovic to go 2-0 up but he was unable to hold onto the break as Nole broke back yet again and went on to secure another break to take the lead. And from here there was no way back for Thiem as Djokovic sealed his place in his fourth French Open final with a convincing 6-2, 6-1, 6-4 win.
THOUGHTS ON MATCH
There was little doubt that Novak would come through this one as he already had beaten Thiem in their previous two meetings so it was inevitable the result would be no different this time around either. And despite having to play four days in a row, Novak has come through his matches admirably without expending too much energy physically although mentally it might have been a bit more taxing for him. But with the withdrawal of Rafa from his side of the draw, the tournament couldn't so far have worked out better for him going into the final as he has made short work of his opponents so far (with the exception of Roberto Bautista-Agut who was the only man to take a set off Novak so far). So this really sees Novak with a strong chance of completing that elusive career slam on Sunday, especially if he maintains this form.
SEMI FINAL MATCH - Murray vs Wawrinka
Now for the second semi final match which was between Andy Murray and the defending champion, Stan Wawrinka. And this was a match which I kind of feared for Andy as Stan has played incredibly well against Andy in their previous three meetings, having defeated Andy in all of them in straight sets, plus he has already won the French and was looking in good form coming into this match. However Andy proved us all wrong as he went on to play the best clay court match of his career so far as he dominated the Swiss with a stunning display of power, precision and defense.
However there were early signs of nerves in Andy's first game where he came under pressue from Stan but he was able to eventually hold on after 10 minutes and after this Andy broke Stan to move ahead and claim the 1st set. In the 2nd set, Andy continued his dominant play as he broke Stan twice to take the two sets to love lead. In the 3rd set however, Stan served better and fought back to claim the 3rd set with a single break as Andy surrendered his serve with a poor game, which lifted the crowd into the match. However in the 4th set, Andy wrestled back control as Stan played a poor service game at the start and from here Andy never looked back as he went to nab the double break and seal his place in his first ever French Open final with a very impressive 6-4, 6-2, 4-6, 6-2 victory.
THOUGHTS ON MATCH
Well there is no doubt this was one of the best matches that Andy has played in his career, particularly on clay as he really bossed Stan from the baseline and put on an incredible display, which stunned the Philipp Chatrier crowd into near silence. And not only that it also marked another milestone in Andy's career as by reaching the final at Roland Garros, he has now reached the final of all four grand slams, which is an amazing achievement in itself and he is the first British man to reach this final since Bunny Austin back in 1937.
MEN'S FINAL ANALYSIS
Soooo this sets up a mouth watering final between the world's two best players, the No.1 vs the No.2, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray. And it all begs the question: who is going to win????? Well let's take a look at this one.
Well I think this will come down to who wants it more and one that basis it probably would be Novak as he has been desparate to win this title for five years now, ever since he made his mark on the tennis world. However as we all know, Novak has felt the pressure in his previous three finals at the French and this has stopped him cold in getting over the finishing line and it is possible that those nerves and pressure might haunt him again. But it does remain a fact that against Andy, Novak has taken a dominant lead over their head to head as he leads 23-10 going into this match and its hard to bet against a man who has such an advantage over one of his main rivals.
However on the other hand, Andy has improved his clay court game immeasurably over the last year or so as prior to his back surgery it has always been a surface he has struggled badly on, but after the surgery he has been able to turn his results around. Not only that, Andy has managed to beat four of the biggest threats on that surface over the last year too as he has beaten Rafa twice in Madrid, Ferrer at the French last year, Novak once in Rome this year and now Stan at the Roland Garros, although curiously enough he has never met Federer on clay in his whole career so far. So to dismiss his chances would be daft because let's not forget Andy will be up against the world's best player, but regardless of that, Novak has not won this event yet either, so it should be quite an even fight.
And there is also so much riding on this for both players as it is another historic match, which would see Novak complete his career slam and become the first man to hold all four majors at the same time since Rod Laver or see Andy become the first British player to win the title since Fred Perry in 1935.
PREDICTION
So as for my prediction.....well I know pretty much all the pundits are going to go with Novak on this one but I'm going to take the opposite view and I think Andy can win the title. And the reason why is simply because Novak has felt the pressure of trying to win this event in the past and I think he might very well feel it again tomorrow, also not to mention that Andy has already gotten the better of him in Rome a few weeks ago and he is currently on a 11 match winning streak as a result.
So I really think, just like Stan last year, that most people really will underestimate Andy's chances this year, but don't forget neither player has won this title and in grand slam finals, Andy has already beaten Novak in two out of the four and Novak has only beaten Andy in the final of the Australian open, which most people who are rooting for Novak, might have probably forgotten.
So for my final prediction (and I could well be completely wrong about this!) I think Andy will win the title in four or five sets. But the key to success for Andy is to win the first set, which he must do as he has never beaten Novak after losing the first set in any of their matches throughout his career. And given that neither man has won this title, it should be a very close and even match and hopefully one to remember, whichever way it goes.
Anyway so that's it for me for now and I will be back with the results of the ladies final once its over, which is between Serena Williams and Garbine Muguruza, which should be a belter.
So until the next post, its bye for now.
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