Roger Federer Will Oust Novak Djokovic Again at French Open

Forget about the fact that Roger Federer beat Novak Djokovic in last year's French Open semifinals. You're only as good as your last loss, and all Federer is thinking about is last year's US Open, which was perhaps the hardest loss he's ever had to swallow.

That will give him all the motivation he needs to pull off the semifinal win over Djokovic two years in a row at Roland Garros.

The fans hoped it would come to this, and they knew it most likely would. Federer, too, was hoping he'd get this opportunity, especially after winning the first two sets over Djokovic in the 2011 US Open semis in September only to lose to a player he described as "lucky."

After that loss, a very irritated Federer told The Guardian, "It's awkward having to explain this loss because I feel like I should be doing the other press conference."

Now is his opportunity to make sure that doesn't happen again. 

Federer also told The Guardian that he gets over his losses quickly, but no one really believes him—and perhaps it's better that way. Federer had so much pent-up anger and frustration after that US Open matchup that it could be his biggest weapon on Friday. Not only does he have a chance to add to his own Grand Slam total since winning the Australian Open in 2010, but he has a chance to thwart Djokovic's own bid to win a historical fourth straight Grand Slam. No better revenge than that.

Though neither Federer nor Djokovic has looked unbeatable at Roland Garros thus far, Djokovic has looked just a bit more vulnerable to a meltdown. He survived match point four times versus Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the fourth round, which in a sense proves that he can win in the clutch. However, Tsonga is no Federer. Against a higher-caliber player, it won't be so easy to pull off a comeback like the one he staged on Tuesday. 

According to USA Today's Douglas Robinson, Djokovic has spent almost twice as long on the courts in this year's tournament as he did in last year's. Last year, he only lost one set before losing to Federer in the semis. This year, he's lost five. 

Though Federer had to bounce back from a two-set deficit of his own in the quarterfinals, he showed marked improvement as the match progressed while Djokovic seemed to be fighting until the very end. Now, all Federer has to do is capitalize on Djokovic's lack of dominance.

To do that, all he has to do is think about how he felt sitting in the loser's press conference last September.