2013 French Open Semifinals Picks and Predictions – Rafael Nadal vs. Novak Djokovic and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. David Ferrer Odds: The semifinals for the 2013 French Open are set, and while three of the top-four seeds made it through, second-seeded Roger Federer wasn’t so fortunate. The all-time leader in Grand Slam titles was bounced in straight sets in the quarterfinals, setting up two very different semifinal matchups. On one side of the bracket, top-ranked Novak Djokovic will take on seven-time French Open champ Rafael Nadal. On the other side, dark horse Jo-Wilfried Tsonga will face fellow upstart David Ferrer. Here is a closer look at both matchups.
No. 1 Novak Djokovic vs. 3 No. Rafael Nadal
The top-ranked player in the world and the unquestioned king of the clay courts will meet in a rematch last year’s French Open championship match. Nadal was victorious in that meeting, winning at Roland Garros for the third year in a row and for the seventh time in eight tries. He will have to get by his rival once again to have a shot at his second four-peat in the tournament while Djokovic will be trying to continue his quest to complete a career Grand Slam by winning his first French Open title. As far as tennis rivalries go, they don’t get any fiercer than this these days.
Part of what makes this rivalry so intense is the incredible physical conditioning of both players. Even when they aren’t playing their best, Nadal and Djokovic can grind out wins simply by wearing down opponents physically and mentally, and both are very comfortable taking a last-man-standing approach to a match. In general, Nadal’s defensive skills are better than Djokovic’s, but “The Joker” has a better pure offensive game and is the more versatile player. For this match in particular, the battle between Nadal’s lefty forehand and Djokovic’s backhand could determine the outcome.
The upper hand in this rivalry has been as back and forth as some of the matches between the two players, and while Nadal holds a slight overall edge and an edge in Grand Slam meetings, Djokovic holds a 3-2 edge in Grand Slam title matches. That being said, Nadal has owned Djokovic on clay to the tune of a 12-3 record. Granted, all three wins for Djokovic have come in the last two years, but he has never beaten Nadal at Roland Garros. In fact, Nadal has only lost one match in his entire French Open career. An argument can be made that Djokovic has figured out Nadal in general, but no one seems to be able to handle him on clay, especially at the French Open. Djokovic will have to wait at least another year for his career Grand Slam as Nadal gets the better of him once again.
Prediction: Rafael Nadal Wins in 4 Sets
No. 4 David Ferrer vs. No. 6 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Neither player in this matchup has won a Grand Slam so the pressure not to waste the opportunity to get the title match will be very real for both men. However, there is no doubt that Tsonga will be under a little more stress as he attempts to become the first Frenchman since 1983 to win at Roland Garros. Of course, Ferrer is trying to erase some bad history of his own as he enters the match with a 0-5 career mark in the semifinals of Grand Slam events.
The match figures to be a battle of contrasting styles with Tsonga’s power game squaring off against the finesse and defensive-style of Ferrer. As he showed in his destruction of Federer in the quarterfinals, Tsonga is tough to stop when his power and aggressive, attacking style are accompanied by accuracy, but match-to-match consistency has always been an issue. Ferrer on the other hand relies heavily on his conditioning and excellent return game to wear down opponents and force them into making mistakes. He isn’t going to overpower anyone, but he tends to make sure his opponents have to earn their points rather than giving any away.
In the end, the different styles of the two players should create a back-and-forth match. With the crowd sure to be pumped in support of Tsonga, the Frenchman will likely come out firing with his aggressive play in overdrive. However, Ferrer is the type of player that can withstand an early surge and recover from an early deficit, and as the match goes on, he should begin to force Tsonga into making more and more mistakes as his early adrenalin wears off. History says Tsonga won’t be as accurate as he was against Federer two times in a row, and as Ferrer’s 3-1 record against him suggests, he knows how to exploit Tsonga’s lapses in precision. Ferrer will come from behind to knock of Tsonga and advance to his first Grand Slam title match.
ATP French Open – Paris, France – Semifinal Matchups June 7, 2013
Novak Djokovic vs Rafael Nadal
Novak Djokovic +140
Rafael Nadal -160
David Ferrer vs Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
David Ferrer -150
Jo-Wilfried Tsonga +130
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Prediction: David Ferrer Wins in 5 Sets