The enemy of my enemy is my friend...

With the top four seeds all making it through to the semi-finals at Roland Garros, conflicting emotions are sure to abound as fans plot the path of their favourite player to prospective glory.

For many Nadal fans I am sure it would have been a case of 'anyone but Roger' in former years, but with the blistering form and recent victories against Nadal by Djokovic I wonder if most Nadal fans want their former 'enemy' in Federer to triumph against the new 'enemy' in the shape of the in-form Serb? Or is it the case that some Nadal fans would rather that he was the man to end the incredible run of Djokovic? Similarly, what do fans of Federer, Djokovic and Murray think? If Novak is your man do you even care who he plays at the minute, such is his form and confidence? As an avowed Federer follower what do you hope for from here? For the Murray-lovers among us, if he were to reach the final who would be your preferred opponent?

Of course, some fans may be neutral or magnanimous enough to simply hope that tennis is the winner and that we get a couple of thrilling semi-finals topped off by a classic on Sunday. All thoughts welcome.

To be completely honest I dont mind who Rafa plays (assuming he beats Murray of course!). I think both Nole and Roger are playing lights out tennis this tournament so Nadal is certainly going to have to earn it whoever he plays. I'm actually focused on who will win the Fed-Nole semi, I see it 50:50 given Fed's prowess on clay and current form. Its all about the start Fed gets, if he goes 1 set down quickly I dont see him coming back...but you never know. Beating Fed over 5 sets is also a different proposition to beating him over three as his slam (vs Masters, 500, 250) performance shows.

If Nole does win, then its the ultimate test for Nadal of course. I still think Nadal wont be at 100% form in this event, even if he beats Murray because his loss of form will take a long time to correct, so he'll have to find a way to win come what may. Again, beating Nadal on or off form over 5 sets is no mean feat.

In many respects the pressure is now on Nole's shoulders to beat Fed and then Nadal/Murray. I expect Rafa and Roger to actually be relatively relaxed as the media glare falls on Nole to win - this is a huge test for Djokovic because people wont remember the 4 Masters titles he's won in the past 2 months, the expectation is firmly on him to win a slam outside AO now, and he knows it. Should he fail against Fed (lesser so against Nadal as people would say he lost to the best claycourter ever), it could actually be a huge dent to his confidence at the very highest (slam) level.

Lydian,

I agree. I'm eagerly awaiting the Federer-Djokovic clash, it's still a tough task to dislodge Roger from a 5-set event and I get the sense Federer is determined to put an end to the Djokovic run. Winning a second French Open would be a magnificent achievement too. I think Federer has a reasonable chance, he's playing well here and, for the most part, his matches against Djokovic have been tight; even those in straight-sets have contained tie-breaks and tight sets.

Yes I think Federer still thinks he's the best (and why not) so he wants to stop this usurper to his future crown. What better way of making a statement that he's not forgotten by beating the current man of the moment.

I fully suspect Fed will be more motivated for this match than he has been for a long long time. Will be a great spectacle.

Also I don't know if this 4 day gap in the tournament helps Novak, I think he would rather have liked a nice short three set match in between this long gap. Its almost now like the first match of a tournament for him while Roger has been having nice easy matches the whole time. Still I think Novak will win, Roger will definetly come out with all guns blazing and the crowd will be in his corner, but Novak is so close to that #1 ranking that he can taste it.

If Federer makes it to the final to face Nadal, it doesn't matter how well he plays in the lead up.

Look back to 2005, Federer reaches the semis without dropping a set but Nadal have way too much for him.

I am a Nadal supporter and at this stage of the tournament I would give anything to see Rafa playing some of the blistering tennis we know he is capable of whether it be against Murray, Djoko or Federer.
Naturally the ideal for me is that he finds his previous form to reach the final and win it... though this seems a far off dream given his previous matches against Djokovic. He showed a lot of promise against the Sod yesterday but above all I just want to see him playing like the Rafa we know whatever the outcome.

Well, as a fan of Murray and Federer, it's onvious what I want to happen. Also fairly obvious that Andy and Fed will only be meeting in a theoretical 3rd/4th place play-off...

At this stage they are all enemies of each others. If it was possible to mix around the semis, here is how I see the players preference.

I think Djoko woudl still prefer to play Nadal or Murray than Federer who is much less predictable.

Nadal woudl prefer injured Murray then Federer and of course least Djoko.

Injured Murray woudl prefer to play Nadal then Federer then Djoko.

Federer clearly woudl rather play Murray, thne Djoko and finally Nadal.

I think that's spot-on Tenez. Funny that in one semi-final we have Nadal and Murray who are probably facing their preferred opponent (the doubts around Murray's fitness give him the nod over Federer in terms of Nadal's preference in my view), whereas in the other Djokovic has possibly his worst-case scenario, and Federer his 'middle' option.

By the way, I had you tagged as 'Borgisback' and almost posted to that effect - there's no mistaking Tenez...

Positively 4th Street wrote:...By the way, I had you tagged as 'Borgisback' and almost posted to that effect - there's no mistaking Tenez...

BUt you were right! BIB was my new pseudo after being banned by 606.

BUt you were right! BIB was my new pseudo after being banned by 606.

I thought as much - the similarity was too remarkable! How do you see things panning out tomorrow, and on Sunday?

Djoko v Federer - can be pretty open, especially if the crowd joins in. But over 5 sets....The guy withthe gluten free diet has a serious advantage. 80/20 for Djoko but hoping Federer is on a mission.

Injured Murray has very little chance v Nadal of yesterday.

Djoko will not lose against Nadal...if they both meet in the final.

I think Federer is 'on a mission', and make it 60/40 in favour of Djokovic for that reason. Federer needs to get ahead early though. Nadal should make the final, whereupon his chances would be greatly determined by who he would be facing.

As an aside, I have a good friend who has Coeliac disease and has been gluten-free for a while now. He's barely played any sports recently - big mistake judging by the strides Djokovic has made! I told him to take to the courts immediately when I heard about Djokovic's diet.

As an aside, I have a good friend who has Coeliac disease

DOn;t worry, I don't think Djoko has CD. At best he has some intolerence to gluten. Weird it took him 20 years to find out though his parents have a Pizza restaurant. .

Its interesting I think Murray would rather play Novak he came pretty close to beating him in Rome, and maybe wants a bit of payback for the Aus. I don't think he wants any part of Rafa on clay or Fed in a grandslam in general.

Novak in my mind would prefer Fed in the semis as well over Andy. Andy has been in better form this clay court season and can match Novak backhand for backhand and in terms of returns and court coverage. Novak on the other hand I feel actually feels more comfortable against Rafa and roger. Against Roger he has the safety zone of going after the backhand. And against Nadal he has the safety zone of knowing that he can neutralize Nadal's high heavy topspin shots. Against Murray I don't think he has a clear of an idea of what he has to do to beat him, although he enjoys a 6-3 winning record against Andy they haven't played too often in the few years and Rome was the closest match he has had during the streak.

For Rafa i think he wants Fed the most because again he has a clear game plan that has paid dividends in the past.Obviously, the guy he least wants to play is Novak.

And for Roger I think he least wants to face Rafa, second least Novak, and would most like Murray since he has beaten every time they have played over 5 sets.

Its is a weird one.

I also think that Djoko would least like Murray (fit for the sake of it), as Murray appears to be the best player in the current lot at knocking some one out of rythm. I think Nadal probably would like Fed or Murray, but again Nadal never ever looks happy when he plays Murray - he might win, but he always looks frustrated by his unpredictability.

Fed on the other hand, he'd probably say he doesn't care, but the truth is its anyone but Nadal

Andy can frustrate Rafa amd take him (Rafa) out of his comfort zone
by disturbing his rythm .
Oh = Pleeeze let him do it tomorrow

Forgot to say that I think Murray might like to play Djoko, but then again maybe he'd stand a better chance to play Fed in a SF rather than a final. I'm looking forward to the day those two tee off in an SF - might finally happen this year

One extremely important point to consider for the semis is how much energy they can save for the final.

We all know that only Federer's matches are going to be "normal" effort wise win or lose cause the points will be shorter.

Any match between Murray, Nadal and Djoko is going to be gruelling and might seriously affect their chance in the final. Imagine a five setter with the rallies of the intensity of the last Djoko/Murray or Murray/Nadal matches on clay (MC and Rome respectively!

That is a good point Tenez, fed tends to play shorter points and whether he or Djokovic get to the final that may be an advantage to the winner of the semi. Although I think it isn't a big advantage and its hard to predict lets remember Fed and Djoko played nearly 4 hours in the semis last year at flushing meadow. And for Nadal it depends which Andy Murray shows up and how well he is playing. If he beats Andy easily in straight sets and Novak and Roger go 5 tough sets well then he has the advantage. Plus all these guys are in really good shape and have a day's rest in between I don't think it will be too much of a factor although certainly something to consider. if this was newyork and they were playing on a saturday and coming back Sunday afternoon it would be a bigger factor.

Socal / Tenez

Under normal circumstances I'd agree, that the Nadal v Murray match is likely to be much more of a physical grind than the Fed v Djoko one, so giving the winner of the later SF an advantage. However, if Murray's mobility is still being compromised by his ankle injury, he'll be trying to shorten points and be more aggressive than normal - might actually be a good strategy for Andy against Rafa on clay, as I don't think even at his best Andy could consistently out run and out-grind an average Nadal at Rolland Garros.

Of course the alternative is that Andy's slightly restricted movements will just open the door too much and allow Rafa to dominate throughout and win quite comfortably.

But Andy says it clearly in his interview: "you have got to be patient against Nadal". So Murray won't go for winners off the bat.

He has looked at the recent videos of Djoko/Nadal and see that the way to do it is to send Nadal in all corners without going for too much too often.

Yes, his ankle holding up to the task is going tobe crucial.

Dummy half, I think if the fears of an ankle injury lead murray to be more aggressive it could throw Rafa off as well. I agree with your post, but I also think this ankle thing is getting too much play, it is clear after the Chela match that while I am sure he is hurt that it probably isn't as bad as initially thought. I think bum ankle or not Murray should be the aggressor and try to dictate the points not allowing Rafa to just get into a comfort zone with neverending baseline exchanges.

Of course the alternative is that Andy's slightly restricted movements will just open the door too much and allow Rafa to dominate throughout and win quite comfortably.

That is certainly a likely option!...with Murray realising he has no chance and saves himself for Wimbledon.

Tenez wrote:

Positively 4th Street wrote:...By the way, I had you tagged as 'Borgisback' and almost posted to that effect - there's no mistaking Tenez...

BUt you were right! BIB was my new pseudo after being banned by 606.

What's the point in banning then?

Thanks to the intervention of Tenez for moving the discussion away from what fans would hope for, towards what the players themselves would prefer - a more interesting discussion for me. Kind of wish I'd started the thread that way!

Just killing time at work now, hoping to finish early to catch most of the action.