Federer out of the Frying Pan, into the Fiery Path of Red Hot Djokovic at French

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As (3) Roger Federer quietly made his way into the 2011 French Open semifinals on Tuesday, the Swiss will no longer be able to remain in the unaccustomed shadows of this grand slam tournament.

His opponent on Friday at the French Open will be the No. 2 seed, Novak Djokovic who has had an extended rest from the proceedings after the Serb’s quarterfinal opponent, Italian Fabio Fognini retired from the tournament.

The extended period of time off may or may not be an advantage. Tennis pundits are still arguing about the supposed benefits and/or disadvantages of the long layoff.

Regardless, these two heavyweights on the men’s tour will do battle for the fourth time in 2011. Their ultimate reward will be a spot in the 2011 French Open finals.

Djokovic has won all three of their recent encounters, defeating Federer at the 2011 Australian Open semifinals, the finals in Dubai and the semifinals at Indian Wells.

Overall, however, Federer leads in their head to head 13-9.

The two have met on clay three times with Federer winning two out of three. In 2009, Djokovic won at Rome in the semifinals. Federer had defeated the Serb twice on the clay courts of Monte Carlo in 2006 and 2008. Federer and Djokovic have not met on the red dirt since 2009.

Djokovic, of course, has not lost a match since the start of 2011 and is on his way to winning his 42nd match of the year. A win would tie John McEnroe’s record winning streak.

A win over Federer on Friday will guarantee breaking McEnroe’s record, plus taking over the No. 1 ranking from Rafael Nadal.

So far this year, Djokovic has been fearless. Nothing has deterred the Serb's ability to win or his nerves.

Just how long will this match winning streak continue? Will Federer be able to exert his prowess over the Serb one more time? Tune in Friday and find out...

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