Paris Playing like he's still upset about his only loss at Roland Garros, Rafael Nadal defeated Robin Soderling 6-4, 6-1, 7-6 on Wednesday to reach the French Open semifinals for the sixth time.The five time champion, who lost to Soderling in the fourth round in 2009 but beat him in last year's final, is 43-1 at the clay court Grand Slam and two wins away from equaling Bjorn Borg's record of six French Open titles.Nadal will face fourth seeded Andy Murray, who reached the French Open semifinals for the first time in his career. The Australian Open runner up, who injured his right ankle in the third round, defeated Juan Ignacio Chela 7-6 (2), 7-5, 6-2.Murray's win ensured that the top four seeded players made the semifinals at a Grand Slam tournament for only the 12th time in the Open era.
Nadal was back on Court Philippe Chatrier to face the man who was responsible for his only blemish at Roland Garros. But with the wind gusting at one point blowing specks of red clay into Nadal's face the fifth seeded Swede struggled with his first serve, landing only 57 percent during the match.However, Nadal didn't appear to be bothered by the conditions, although he was broken twice. The top ranked Spaniard made only 13 unforced errors, while Soderling had 41.Emotionless for nearly the entire match, Nadal was able to handle Soderling's hard forehand and keep his opponent on the move by spraying shots to the corners of the court.And when he smacked a forehand winner to hold serve to 6-5 in the third set, the crowd roared.
After five titles in Paris, Nadal had plenty of fans in the stands and even some admirers. Besides the Spanish flags throughout the stadium, one woman held up a sign reading, "Rafa ganador, kiss me por favor. Nadal's semifinal opponent also had an easy time Wednesday.Murray, who tore a tendon in his right ankle last week but still managed to win a five setter in the fourth round, trailed Chela 4-1 in the first set. He then won five of six games to force the tiebreak and broke early in both of the next two sets."I'm surprised I'm here, to be honest, because I haven't actually played that well," said Murray. "That's a very good sign for me, because a few months ago I was not playing well and losing badly. I haven't been playing that well. I'm in the semis of a Slam. That's a good sign."
After reaching the Australian Open final in January, Murray went through a four-match losing streak. But he is now enjoying his best clay-court season, having already reached the semifinals in Monte Carlo and Rome.He lost to Nadal in Monte Carlo but pushed the top ranked Spaniard to three sets.Murray already showed his mental resources this week when he came back from two sets and a break down to defeat Viktor Troicki in a fourth-round match that took two days to complete.Against Chela, Murray said his ankle didn't bother him too much, giving him some confidence before Friday's match against Nadal.On a windy Court Suzanne Lenglen, Chela broke twice to open a 4-1 lead with a forehand passing shot straight at Murray, who struggled physically and even looked out of breath after long rallies.But Murray saved two set points at 5-3, the second with a backhand drop shot. He then broke to level the score at 5-5 with a forehand winner and won five points in a row in the tiebreak.Murray is only the second British man in the Open era to reach the French Open semifinals after Tim Henman seven years ago. If he reaches the final, he would be the first Brit in the championship match at Roland Garros since Bunny Austin in 1937.The
other semifinal Friday will be between Roger Federer and the seemingly unstoppable Novak Djokovic. The second-seeded Djokovic is 41-0 in 2011 and has won 43 straight matches dating to last year's Davis Cup final triumph for Serbia."The best player of the world today against the best player history," Nadal said. "Going to be, in my opinion, fantastic match."
After five titles in Paris, Nadal had plenty of fans in the stands and even some admirers. Besides the Spanish flags throughout the stadium, one woman held up a sign reading, "Rafa ganador, kiss me por favor. Nadal's semifinal opponent also had an easy time Wednesday.Murray, who tore a tendon in his right ankle last week but still managed to win a five setter in the fourth round, trailed Chela 4-1 in the first set. He then won five of six games to force the tiebreak and broke early in both of the next two sets."I'm surprised I'm here, to be honest, because I haven't actually played that well," said Murray. "That's a very good sign for me, because a few months ago I was not playing well and losing badly. I haven't been playing that well. I'm in the semis of a Slam. That's a good sign."
After reaching the Australian Open final in January, Murray went through a four-match losing streak. But he is now enjoying his best clay-court season, having already reached the semifinals in Monte Carlo and Rome.He lost to Nadal in Monte Carlo but pushed the top ranked Spaniard to three sets.Murray already showed his mental resources this week when he came back from two sets and a break down to defeat Viktor Troicki in a fourth-round match that took two days to complete.Against Chela, Murray said his ankle didn't bother him too much, giving him some confidence before Friday's match against Nadal.On a windy Court Suzanne Lenglen, Chela broke twice to open a 4-1 lead with a forehand passing shot straight at Murray, who struggled physically and even looked out of breath after long rallies.But Murray saved two set points at 5-3, the second with a backhand drop shot. He then broke to level the score at 5-5 with a forehand winner and won five points in a row in the tiebreak.Murray is only the second British man in the Open era to reach the French Open semifinals after Tim Henman seven years ago. If he reaches the final, he would be the first Brit in the championship match at Roland Garros since Bunny Austin in 1937.The
other semifinal Friday will be between Roger Federer and the seemingly unstoppable Novak Djokovic. The second-seeded Djokovic is 41-0 in 2011 and has won 43 straight matches dating to last year's Davis Cup final triumph for Serbia."The best player of the world today against the best player history," Nadal said. "Going to be, in my opinion, fantastic match."
