French Open 2012: Djokovic's Dominance in Semis Proves He Can Compete with Nadal

Throughout the course of the 2012 French Open, there's been no one who could contend with Rafael Nadal. Until now.

For most of this tournament, it didn't seem like either Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer would be able to halt Nadal's quest to make history, but Djokovic changed all that with one superb performance in Friday's semifinals against Federer. It's like he finally woke up and realized he has something on the line, too.

After a particularly distressing performance in the quarterfinals, where the world No. 1 barely escaped the wrath of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, he dominated Federer 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 to advance to the final.

Now, Nadal awaits. Nadal, who defeated him just a couple of weeks ago at the Italian Open. Earlier this week, it looked as though Djokovic stood no chance at stopping Nadal, but now, the tides have turned.

Once again, Djokovic looks just as good as anybody.

One way or another, history will be made at Roland Garros on Sunday. Either Nadal will become the first man to win the French Open seven times, or Djokovic will become the first player in 43 years to hold all four major titles.

After winning his 27th consecutive Grand Slam singles match on Friday, it appears that if anyone has a shot at stopping the best player on clay, it's him.

Nadal, meanwhile, has been unstoppable. He's won each of his 15 sets thus far and has dropped just 35 games. In the semifinals, he slaughtered David Ferrer 6-2, 6-2, 6-1.

But he's right to be wary of his opponent in the final. Throughout this tournament, he's been treacherously unchallenged, and nothing sets you up for a downfall like coasting. Nadal told the BBC on Saturday: 

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I don't feel I'm the great favorite. I'm going to play against the No. 1. …  You cannot be relaxed against the number one player in the world. [The semi-final win over David Ferrer] just gives me confidence. It confirms that I am playing well. I have played well almost every day. That's the most important thing for me. For sure, I will have my doubts. For sure, I have to respect my opponent. He beat me a lot of times. But I am here to fight for every ball and to try my best in every moment. 

"

Simultaneously, Djokovic told the BBC he feels like he's at the top of his game. He's not worried about the fact that he's looked terrible at times during this tournament because when he needed to raise his game against Federer in the semis, he succeeded with flying colors.

Maybe Djokovic hasn't been all that rusty at Roland Garros this year. Maybe he's just felt unchallenged, like Nadal, but he's saving some juice in the tank for the grand finale, unlike Nadal.

He's going to need a lot of juice to defeat a heavy favorite and a player who's virtually indestructible on clay. But judging by the way things went on Friday against Federer, Djokovic is good enough to do it.