Roland Garros: French Open men's semi-final betting previews, tips & TV details

Day 13
ITV4 & Eurosport, from 11.50am Friday

Federer v Nadal

Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have played out one of the most storied sporting rivalries of the last 15 years and the two tennis greats go to war once again with a place in Sunday’s French Open men’s final up for grabs.

Nadal is an 11-time champion, has lost just two matches in his career at Roland Garros, and has never tasted defeat against Federer in five meetings with his nemesis on the clay of the French capital.

However, they have not played a French Open match since 2011 and Nadal, despite leading their career head-to-head 23-15 in official matches, has not beaten Federer since the 2014 Australian Open final.

The Swiss veteran has won their last five meetings - prior to that he had never managed more than two consecutive victories over Nadal - and will enter this match brimming with confidence following a near-perfect run to the semi-finals, dropping just one set on his way to the last four.

The same can be said of Nadal and prices no bigger than 1-8 indicate that bookmakers think the 33-year-old still has a massive edge on his favoured terrain.

Federer will look to attack Nadal from the start, taking the ball earlier and refusing to get embroiled in long rallies with the Spaniard. He might not be able to maintain that aggressive attitude for long enough to win the match, but the 37-year-old has won a set against Nadal in four of their five Paris meetings and is playing well enough to do so again.

Recommendation
R Federer to win at least a set
2pts 10-11 Betway, Hills, Sky Bet

N Djokovic v D Thiem

Novak Djokovic beat Alexander Zverev 7-5 6-2 6-2 to seal his place in the semi-finals but that scoreline doesn’t tell the whole story and it could easily have been a lot closer had the young German taken his chance to serve out the first set when 5-4 up and 30-15 ahead.

Djokovic is bidding to hold all four Grand Slam titles at the same time and has not dropped a set yet in Paris, but matches against Hubert Hurkacz, Henri Laaksonen, Salvatore Caruso and a jaded Jan-Lennard Struff were not the toughest tests. Zverev has been in poor form all season and Djokovic might not be let off the hook should he present Dominic Thiem with the same opportunities.

A meeting with Thiem is a step up for the world number one. The Austrian beat Djokovic on clay at Roland Garros in 2017 and again in Monte Carlo last year before losing to him in Madrid this season.

Djokovic beat Thiem 7-6 7-6 in the Spanish capital but that result must be taken in context given that Thiem had played out a long three-set battle with Roger Federer in the quarter-finals the previous day while his opponent benefited massively from a walkover after Marin Cilic withdrew.

One of the best clay-courters in the world, Thiem breezed through his quarter-final meeting with Karen Khachanov and looks to have every chance of making the French Open final for the second consecutive season.

Recommendation
D Thiem
1pt 9-5 Betfair

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