Today's Matches:
The first semifinal, between Svetlana Kuznetsova and Dinara Safina, pits the the only remaining Grand Slam winner in the draw against a player who came into Roland Garros in top form, and who has staged two impressive comebacks this week. Their head-to-head is 4-3 in Kuznetsova's favour, or 3-2 on clay. The only time they have previously met at the French Open was in 2006. Kuznetsova, who reached the final that year, won 7-6, 6-0 in their quarterfinal. Kuznetsova so far hasn't lost a set in Paris, nor has she faced a tiebreak. Of course, Safina's revivals against Maria Sharapova and Elena Dementieva involved hauling herself into tiebreaks in pivotal second sets.
Ana Ivanovic's head-to-head against her fellow Serb, Jelena Jankovic, is 5-1. She was the winner of their only match on clay to date, but it was on the green stuff, in 2007. Jankovic performed well in Rome in the lead-up to Roland Garros, defending her title there; Ivanovic is, of course, last year's losing finalist. Neither woman has dropped a set on her way to the semifinal - in fact, Ivanovic hasn't even been taken to a tiebreak, while Jankovic has faced three.
To add further interest to the mix today, either Jankovic, Ivanovic or Kuznetsova will take over the number one spot as of next Monday, depending on the week's eventual outcome.
Player of the Day:
Men: Unseeded Gael Monfils, defeating world number five David Ferrer in front of a home crowd on Court Philippe Chatrier, over four sets, to reach the semifinal. It's his best-ever Slam performance. Monfils reached the quarters here two years ago, and has spent some time in the tennis wilderness since then, so few people would have predicted his run here.
Women: Dinara Safina, in her second great escape of the week, coming back in the second set from 2-5 down, saving a match point, and forcing a tiebreak before steamrolling Elena Dementieva in the decider. As for Monfils, this is her best-ever Slam performance.
Weather Report:
For once, the forecast for today contains no rain - we may even expect to see some sun over Court Philippe Chatrier. Looking ahead, Friday and Saturday could be interrupted by those dreaded rain delays, but sunshine is hoped for on men's finals day.
As always, enjoy today's tennis.
