French Open Tennis 2015: Men's Semifinals TV Schedule and Match Predictions
For the first time since 2004, the French Open will have a men's champion not named Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer.
Both Nadal and Federer shockingly dropped their quarterfinal matches in straight sets, leaving a quartet of Novak Djokovic, Andy Murray, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Stan Wawrinka.
Obviously, none has captured a French Open title, and only Djokovic has even made it as far as the finals. However, all are Grand Slam veterans who have at least made it to a final, with Tsonga the only player remaining without a major title. Thus, even without the familiar Nadal-Federer duo, the semis are not short on experience.
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Laying out Friday's full TV coverage, let's take a deeper dive into each match and determine which players are likeliest to play for the title Sunday morning.
Semifinals Viewing Info
Matchups: (1) Novak Djokovic vs. (3) Andy Murray and (8) Stan Wawrinka vs. (14) Jo-Wilfried Tsonga
Date: Fri., June 5
Time: 7 a.m.-2 p.m. ET
TV: Tennis Channel (7 a.m.-11 a.m.) and NBC (11 a.m.-2 p.m.)
Stream: NBC Live Extra
*TV info via Tennis.com
Semifinals Previews
Djokovic vs. Murray
The two hottest players in the world would have made for a fitting final, but the draw dictates that Djokovic and Murray will have to settle for a semifinal meeting. Djokovic is the only player on the ATP circuit with an undefeated clay court record this season, while Murray's only loss since February has come to the top-ranked player he'll face in this round.
Historically, Djokovic holds a dominant edge over Murray, with an 18-8 advantage. That includes wins in 10 of the past 11 matches, the most recent coming two months ago in the Miami Open. Djokovic has won the two meetings they've had on clay and, in fact, has never lost to any of the remaining semifinalists on the surface:
However, it would be too simplistic to pencil Djokovic in for his first French Open title. While Murray is a clear dog in this match, he's also taken his clay game to another level this season, capturing his first two clay-court titles. That includes his most recent win at the Madrid Masters, where he beat Nadal on clay for the first time.
It's been a summer of breakthroughs for the Brit, who largely dominated David Ferrer in the quarters apart from a lull that caused him to drop the third set. Though he's dropped three sets in this tournament, Murray has largely been in cruise control in ripping through the easiest quarter of the men's draw.
But that roll should come to a screeching halt against Djokovic, who has yet to drop a set and holds the heavy advantage so long as Murray doesn't dominate with his serve. Murray has virtually no margin for error, and though it's not difficult to imagine him taking a set given how well he's played on clay this season, stealing three from Djokovic seems improbable.
Prediction: Djokovic in four sets
Wawrinka vs. Tsonga
The Cinderella half of the remaining bracket pits two players few expected to reach this juncture of the tournament. More intriguingly, there is very little head-to-head history between the two, as Tsonga and Wawrinka are tied with three wins apiece in six meetings.
Two of those meetings have been at this event, with Wawrinka winning in 2011 before Tsonga defeated the Swiss in the round of 16 the next year.
Tsonga is the biggest surprise of the tournament thus far. Though the Frenchman traditionally does well in his home major, having reached the round of 16 or further six of the past seven years, 2015 had been a miserable year.
Prior to Roland Garros, Tsonga had posted an abysmal 6-5 singles record, a signal that the 30-year-old was ostensibly on his last legs.
Now healthy, Tsonga has impressed with his movement and grittiness amid long odds. Still, fitness questions will linger on what projects to be the hottest day of the tournament, as Bleacher Report's Brendan O'Meara suggests that fatigue could be the match's determining X-factor:
""There’s also the matter of fatigue, and that could affect Tsonga more than Wawrinka. Tsonga comes in off a five-set match against Nishikori and just turned the dreaded age of 30, so the tires could be balding for Tsonga. He’ll need Paris, and France at large, to buoy him past his limitations.
Whereas Tsonga has played nine sets in his past two matches, Wawrinka has won in straight sets his past three matches. The emotional waves won't be on his side, but if the match extends past three sets, as many might figure, Wawrinka's superior ball-striking and easier road to the semis might pay off.
It's difficult to pick against Tsonga, who is facing his best (and perhaps last) shot at an elusive Grand Slam title. But Wawrinka overcame a huge hurdle himself in beating his countryman Federer, and now the path is there for him to reach his second major final.
Prediction: Wawrinka in five sets
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