FRENCH OPEN MEN’S SEMIFINAL THOUGHTS: NADAL VS. MURRAY, DJOKOVIC VS. GULBIS

Written by: Staff on 5th June 2014

French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros

FRENCH OPEN MEN'S SEMIFINAL THOUGHTS: NADAL VS. MURRAY, DJOKOVIC VS. GULBIS

epa04236920 Andy Murray of Britain reacts during his fourth round match against Fernando Verdasco of Spain for the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 02 June 2014. EPA/CHRISTOPHE KARABA |

By Ricky Dimon

Only two of the top four seeds are still alive for semifinal action on Friday at Roland Garros, but three of the so-called “Big 4″ have advanced. Ernests Gulbis is joining Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic, and Andy Murray for what is an intriguing lineup.

Let’s take a look at the two matchups:

(1) Rafael Nadal vs. (7) Andy Murray: Murray has been rope-a-doping so much this fortnight that even Muhammad Ali would be proud. In between points during his five-set thriller against Philipp Kohlschreiber, Murray would make the Bataan Death March look like a celebration by comparison. In a five-setter against Gael Monfils on Wednesday, he looked closer to death than his opponent who had been “about to die” during a five-setter against Fabio Fognini in the third round.

Of course, none of that is anything new for Murray. What also isn’t new is final weekends at the French Open involving Nadal. The world No. 1 is two wins away from a ninth triumph at Roland Garros and fifth in succession dating back to 2010. He has been all business during this installment of the event, surrendering just one set to David Ferrer in a match that turned into a lopsided laugher. This one could be similar based on the past head-to-head history between Nadal and Murray (especially on clay), but if the Philippe Chatrier faithful is hoping for a close contest, the recent Rome match between these two major champs is reason for encouragement.

(18) Ernests Gulbis vs. (2) Novak Djokovic vs. (2) Novak Djokovic: These two used to train together at Niki Pilic’s academy in Munich back when they were teenagers. After tennis drills were over for the day, Djokovic would go stretch or head back to the gym; you know, doing things that dedicated tennis players and future champions do. Gulbis, on the other hand, would fire up the Playstation or–perhaps more likely–engage in more rated ‘R’ activities; you know, things that less-focused professional athletes do that we won’t discuss here. That’s one reason why Djokovic is now a six-time Grand Slam champion while Gulbis is heading into his first-ever slam semifinal.

Six years since Gulbis’ only previous appearance in a major quarterfinal (also at Roland Garros, lost to Djokovic), the Latvian is finally putting it together in the head and, in turn, on the court. His racket-smashing and quote-quipping seem to be all just for show, no longer negatively impacting his results. Gulbis is positively on fire right now, but Djokovic is the hottest player on tour. The world No. 2 has followed up his Rome triumph with the loss of only one set so far this fortnight. Regardless, this is must-watch television. The shot-making will be awesome and either Gulbis will make it competitive, or he’ll be good for a few tirades in the event of blowout in Djokovic’s favor.

Topics: Andy Murray, Ernests Gulbis, French Open, Novak Djokovic, Paris, Rafael Nadal, Ricky Dimon, Roland Garros, Sports, Tennis

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10sBalls_com says:

June 5, 2014 at 7:55 pm

FRENCH OPEN MEN’S SEMIFINAL THOUGHTS: NADAL VS. MURRAY, DJOKOVIC VS. GULBIS – http://t.co/dyWsVfoyVk @RafaelNadal @andy_murray #RG14 #tennis
RD_Tennistalk says:

June 5, 2014 at 8:42 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: FRENCH OPEN MEN’S SEMIFINAL THOUGHTS: NADAL VS. MURRAY, DJOKOVIC VS. GULBIS – http://t.co/dyWsVfoyVk @RafaelNadal @andy_m…