French Open 2015: Friday Roland Garros Schedule and Bracket Predictions
The women's French Open semifinals took place on Thursday, where Lucie Safarova and Serena Williams advanced to Saturday's final. On Friday, the final four men will battle for a spot in their finals.
We're already assured of having a new French Open champion on the men's side, as No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic easily dispatched defending champion and No. 6 seed Rafael Nadal in straight sets during Wednesday's quarterfinal meeting.
If ever there was a passing of the torch in an event, Djokovic's rout of Nadal looked like a perfect example. The two rivals usually have spirited four or five-set matches. Wednesday's match was the exact opposite. Djokovic looked to have one of his easiest matches of the tournament in a 7-5, 6-3, 6-1 romp.
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On Friday, he'll take on No. 3 Andy Murray.
Djokovic has had a clear advantage over Murray during their careers. The streaking Serb has won 18 of the 26 meetings and both previous matches on clay. Oddly enough, this is the first meeting between the two at the French Open.
Per Piers Newbery of BBC Sport, Murray is trying not to allow his past failures against Djokovic to effect him on Friday. Murray said: "My job is to forget about what's happened in the past and focus on that match." It may not take long for Djokovic to remind him who he's facing.
Murray has looked solid en route to the semifinals. He turned away David Ferrer in four sets 7-6 (7-4), 6-2, 5-7, 6-1. However, there's probably not a man in the history of the game—save a prime Nadal and/or Bjorn Borg—who would beat Djokovic the way he's playing right now.
He has won 27 straight matches, and he'll push that total to 28 with a four-set win over Murray on Friday.
From the looks of this poll conducted by Ladbrokes, most fans seem to think Djokovic won't be stopped by Murray or anyone else en route to his first French Open title:
Take a look at the schedule, bracket and predictions for the other men's semifinal on Friday.
| No. 14 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga vs. No. 8 Stan Wawrinka | Tsonga |
| No. 1 Novak Djokovic vs. No. 3 Andy Murray | Djokovic |
Tsonga Will Ride Crowd's Energy to Final
The French crowd will be firmly behind No. 14 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga as he takes on No. 8 Stan Wawrinka in the other men's semifinal. If you're planning on watching this one, prepare to be there for awhile. The two men have split six previous meetings, and Friday's match figures to be a back-and-forth battle.
Five of their head-to-head matches have been on clay—Wawrinka won three of them. Two have taken place at Roland Garros with the men splitting the French Open matches.
Both players are coming off emotional wins. Wawrinka defeated his fellow Swiss star No. 2 Roger Federer 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 (7-4). Tsonga outlasted No. 5 Kei Nishikori 6-1, 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-3.
The question heading into this match will be which player will have the most left in the tank?
The easy answer could be Wawrinka because he only played three sets while Tsonga was extended to five by Nishikori. However, with deeper examination, Tsonga's match had an hour delay due to a collapsing structure in the stadium, which allowed for a substantial break mid-match.
Also, Wawrinka's win over Federer was just his third ever over the future Hall of Famer. Known for being inconsistent and erratic, Wawrinka could be a bit satisfied with his accomplishment. That mindset might lead to him being more affected by the pro-Tsonga crowd.
Tsonga finished the Nishikori match with tremendous momentum. I believe that carries over into the semifinal on Friday, and he advances to face Djokovic in Sunday's finale.
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