Nadal and Djokovic Play in the Roland Garros Semifinals on Friday

The second to last act of the most important tennis tournament of the month is scheduled to begin on Friday afternoon. Not surprisingly, two of the players with the most trophies under their belt will compete on this day and both are credited with excellent chances to advance to the final. Nadal and Djokovic will take on younger and ambitious players in a tournament they dominated from the first round.

Nadal Ready to Exact Vengeance upon Schwartzman

Rafael Nadal was mildly upset by the fact that the organizers had him play very late on Wednesday, in a match that ended well after midnight. This won’t happen on Friday though, as the matches scheduled to begin at 2 PM UK time and will and later in the afternoon. The multiple Roland Garros winner will start as overwhelming favorite against a player that he dominated in head to head matches. Schwartzman won the last game in a Rome, but was defeated in the previous nine matches and is a huge underdog.

Diego gave Thiem a run for his money and won in five sets, at the end of a match that could have really gone either way. This time around he is unlikely to cause the reigning champion too many troubles, as Nadal looks nearly unstoppable on the French Open play. Bookmakers are crediting Rafael Nadal with the first chance and odds of 3/20, which are in line with the high expectations set out for him. Punters bold enough to bet on the 80 Schwartzman to win will be paid at 9/2 by bet365 Sports.

Djokovic and Tsitsipas are Tied before Roland Garros Semifinals

Novak Djokovic overcame a lot of adversity in the first set of the quarterfinals against Carreno-Busta, but was quick to return to his winning ways. He won the match in four sets and was able to capitalize on early mistakes committed by his opponent to take an early lead in each of these four sets. What is worrisome about the Serbian player is that he had to save a lot of breakpoints, which is not characteristic for him. In the end, he outlasted the Spanish player to set up an epic confrontation with Tsitsipas.

Once again he will take on a player that has a powerful first serve and a devastating forehand, yet he has a clear advantage. The head to head record is evenly matched, with each player winning three times, so in theory, the match can go either way. The Greek player has the talent to cause an upset here, but he tends to choke in the decisive stages of major tournaments. Roland Garros is precisely the type of Grand Slam competition where players need to control their emotions and where experience prevails. Novak Djokovic should emerge victorious from this confrontation, as reflected by the odds 3/10 of offered by 888 Sport.

Disclaimer:

The odds mentioned here were accurate at the featured bookmakers at the hour the article was written, respectively on Wednesday, October 7 at 7 pm UK time.