The much-anticipated semifinals match between Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal is here. The No. 1 and No. 3 seed square off on the clay Friday morning at 7 a.m. ET. You can watch the live stream here.
Djokovic earned his place in the semifinals with a solid win on Wednesday over Tommy Haas, finishing 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), 7-5. Nadal handled his quarterfinals match even better, defeating Stanislas Wawrinka 6-2, 6-3, 6-1, USA Today reports.
Nadal is on the path toward an historic eighth French Open title and his fourth straight; Djokovic is looking for his first ever win at Roland Garros. Although Nadal is projected to win the title this year, Djokovic has the best chance for an upset victory.
Recovering from a knee injury that kept him off the court for seven months has affected Nadal's game. This was the first year that the Spaniard ever dropped a set in each of his first two rounds, although he didn't drop any against his last three opponents.
"Sometimes it's a little bit strange, but that's how my mentality sometimes works," Nadal said of his improved play against tougher opponents.
Thursday will be the 35th time the two players meet, but only their second time facing each other on clay. They met on clay in April during the 2013 Monte Carlo, where Djokovic defeated his rival. The win gives the Serb confidence.
"That is something that can maybe give me that mental edge when I step onto the court, knowing I already won against him on clay this season, knowing I can do it, even though not many players in the last 10 years have won against him on this surface and he's been the most dominant player in the history of this sport on this surface," Djokovic said of Nadal.
It's not an exaggeration - Nadal is 57-1 at Roland Garros.
The Djokovic-Nadal semifinal match has the potential to be the most exciting round of the French Open.
"This is it," Djokovic told reporters. "This is the biggest matchup of our Roland Garros 2013 campaign for both me and him."
