Roger Federer Will Struggle Against Novak Djokovic at Paris Masters

Roger Federer is having a strong finish after struggling for most of this year, but he isn't going to be able to get past Novak Djokovic in the semifinals of the 2013 BNP Paribas Masters.

In his quarterfinal match against Juan Martin del Potro, Federer hit his first official snag of the tournament.  He coasted through the first few rounds, but dropped the second set against del Potro, winning 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.  

Meanwhile, Djokovic breezed through his last round, beating Stanislas Wawrinka 6-1, 6-4 and improving to 65-9 on the season.  Federer has been great over his career, but he isn't going to have much luck against Djokovic in this one.

In 2013, Federer has struggled, beating few impressive opponents other than Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who he took down in the quarterfinals at the Australian Open.  He had little success in any of the Grand Slam tournaments, going to the semifinals at the Australian Open, the quarterfinals at the French Open, the fourth round at the US Open and just the second round at Wimbledon.

According to the Times of India, Djokovic had this to say about Federer and his struggles so far this season:

"

Roger is probably experiencing the worst season that he had in last 10 years, but he's still a player to beat in every tournament, because he's Roger Federer, because he has won 17 Grand Slams, and we all know how successful a career he has.

You cannot underestimate him, although maybe he's not at the form where he was when he was No. 1 of the world. But I have been watching his matches in Basel last week and here. I think he's playing really well.

"

For Djokovic, he went to the finals in three of the four Grand Slam events, falling in the semifinals at the French Open.  He won his third straight title in Melbourne for his one Grand Slam win this year.

When going head-to-head, Federer has 16 wins while Djokovic has 13.  However, Novak has the most recent win, beating the 32-year-old at the ATP World Tour Finals back in 2012, and has won three of their last five meetings.

With just a 43-14 record and only one title this year, it's hard to think that Federer can beat Djokovic.  Novak has five singles titles this season and is the second-best player in the world based off of the latest ATP rankings.

It's certainly going to be an interesting match to watch, but Federer is going to have a tough time going against one of his bigger rivals on Saturday.