Nadal and Federer faceoff in today's semifinal

This evening, Astro Supersports is going to show the live telecast of the match between Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer.

Who's the champ? Nadal or Federer?


For me, this is definitely the match of the year. After follow up Rafa's matches since Australian Open earlier this year, this is the match that I've been looking forward to. Although a rematch between Rafa and Coria would be great but this is what tennis fans have been waiting for.

Today's match is definitely no ordinary semifinal. It is the battle to determine who's the best in the world; is Nadal the best player on claycourt?; can the teenage prodigy defeat Federer?; is Nadal the next no.1 player? We will find out the answer tonight.

a dream French Open semifinal

On Friday Rafael Nadal is going to play the biggest match against world no.1 Roger Federer. On that very same day, it is Rafa's 19th birthday. Rafa improved so much this year and with his solid performance and unbeatable records on claycourt this year, he is definitely my ultimate choice to win at Roland Garros. It's never been better than to win a Grand Slam on birthday.

On the other hand, Federer is not an easy competitor. He makes tennis looks so easy to play. To me he never looks like an aggresive player and yet this guy can manage the court so well. Federer is definitely the genius is tennis.

Whoever who win this match tomorrow is definitely fated to win the Grand Slam. That's for sure. Davydenko or Puerta (the other two players in the semifinal) may be a good competitor in the final but Rafa or Federer have better track records.

it's down to quarterfinals

Finally we are at the quarterfinals at Roland Garros. Below are the surviving 16 players (men and women).

Men's singles
Roger Federer vs V. Hanescu
Rafael Nadal vs. David Ferrer
Nikolay Davydenko vs. T. Robredo
G. Canas vs. M. Puerta

Women's singles
Lindsay Davenport vs. Mary Pierce
E. Likhovtseva vs. S. Karatantcheva
N. Petrova vs. Ana Ivanovic
Justine Henin-Hardenne vs. Maria Sharapova

Federer and Rafa are definitely going to meet in the semifinal. They are at their top forms and I don't think Hanescu and Ferrer will be able to compete with them. I would love to see Nadal win. This is his first time at Roland Garros and there is nothing better than to see him winning all the clay court matches this year.

On the women's singles, Davenport is definitely the favourite although Pierce has her homeground fans backing her up in the quarterfinal. Although I'm a fan of Sharapova, I'm not sure if she's going to outplay Justine. Justine is a good player and it's not going to be easy for Sharapova.

Rafa and Sharapova rules at Roland Garros

Rafael Nadal in action at the French Open



In less than 2 hours, Rafa scored a victory over Richard Gasquet, 6-4, 6-3, 6-2. I was very excited about this match but too bad there is no live telecast of the French Open on ESPN. We have heard so much about the two teenagers recently. Rafa no doubt is the main reason I'm interested in tennis (besides Maria Sharapova). Gasquet on the other hand was playing in his own homeground and he was the one of the two person (the other one is Marat Safin) who had beaten Roger Federer this year.

However, the much-anticipated third-round battle between Rafa and French teenager Richard Gasquet did not live up to its billing. Rafa has now won 20 consecutive matches, all on clay. This will be his second appearance in the round of 16 in a slam; he reached the fourth round at the Australian Open (he was beaten by Hewitt in five sets match).

His next opponent is another Frenchman, No. 23-seeded Sebastian Grosjean. They have never played before. However, I'm looking forward for the semifinal because if everything goes right, Rafa might play with Federer.

Maria Sharapova at the French Open


On the women competition, Maria Sharapova is definitely have my support although clay is not her favourite court. She plays very well and dare to take risks but it's her finishing that refrains her from winning crucial matches. Just like Rafa, she's only 18 years old and they are No.1 players in the making. If Sharapova plays well in Roland Garros, she will definitely end up on the top rank replacing Lindsay Davenport.

Sharapova is through to the 3rd round and she will play her fellow Russian compatriot Anna Chakvetadze. They have never played before.