French Open 2018 Men's Semifinal: TV Schedule, Start Time, Live Stream Info

Rafael Nadal headlines the 2018 French Open men's semifinals as he stands two victories away from his 11th Grand Slam title at Roland-Garros. Juan Martin del Potro, who's never reached the final at the season's second major tournament, is his opponent Friday.

Meanwhile, Dominic Thiem is in the French Open semis for the third consecutive year, and he'll attempt to finally break through with his first appearance in the championship match. He must overcome Marco Cecchinato, the event's Cinderella story, to achieve that goal.

Let's check out all of the important details for the penultimate round in the men's draw. That's followed by a preview and prediction for each of the matches.

Viewing Information

Where: Stade Roland-Garros in Paris

When: Friday, June 8 at 7 a.m. ET

Watch: Tennis Channel (7 a.m. ET) and NBC (11 a.m ET)

Live Stream: NBC Sports Live

Semifinal Predictions

Match 1: (7) Dominic Thiem vs. Marco Cecchinato

Thiem has looked like one of the rising stars on the ATP World Tour for several years en route to 10 career titles. He's struggled to translate that success to the sport's biggest stages, however, failing to advance beyond the fourth round in any major outside of the French Open.

He's found consistent success on the clay courts of Roland-Garros, though. He reached the semifinals each of the past two years before losing to Novak Djokovic and Nadal, respectively.

The 24-year-old Austrian's foe is a lot less heralded than those two tennis superstars this time around.

To say Cecchinato, 25, is a surprise semifinalist would be an understatement.

He'd never advanced beyond the opening round of a Grand Slam event in his career before the 2018 French Open and was eliminated in the qualifying round of the tournament three of the past four years.

He hasn't simply been a beneficiary of good draw luck, either. His last three wins have come over Pablo Carreno Busta, David Goffin and Djokovic. That's an impressive run.

OddsShark noted he's still a long shot to complete the miracle title run:

When Cecchinato has found success, it's been on clay in ATP Challenger Tour and ITF Pro Circuit events. He's reached 19 career finals at those levels and 18 of them came on clay, earning 11 titles.

He also won the 2018 Hungarian Open on clay in April for his first ATP title.

That said, it's an enormous leap from those tournaments to the French Open. His journey to this point has been worthy of praise, but he faces an uphill battle Friday.

It's time for Thiem, who steamrolled second-seeded Alexander Zverev in quarters, to shine. His superior all-around game should prove too much against the upstart Italian.

Pick: Thiem in four sets

Match 2: (1) Rafael Nadal vs. (5) Juan Martin del Potro

One of the underlying storylines should Nadal win his 11th French Open championship this week will be what would have happened in his quarterfinal clash with Diego Schwartzman if a rain delay hadn't forced the match to get postponed overnight.

Schwartzman was the better player before the weather stoppage in the second set. He captured the opening set on the strength of a 20-4 winner advantage, often putting the King of Clay on his heels.

Nadal took complete control when the action resumed Thursday, though. He regained control of the second set and cruised through the next two to advance to another semifinal.

"The changes were not the sun or the rain. It was within myself," he told reporters. "Of course, the rain helped stop the match and helped me think about the match, and that's a reality. But in terms of play, what changed is how I played and how I managed the match."

Although Schwartzman couldn't keep pace, his early success did provide the heavy-hitting Del Potro with a blueprint for success.

This is the 29-year-old Argentine's second trip to the French Open semifinals. The last one came all the way back in 2009. Nadal has won six titles in the event since that point.

The Spaniard holds a 9-5 advantage in their head-to-head meetings, including a victory in their only clay-court matchup in the first round of the 2007 French Open.

Nadal won that match in straight sets. This one should be more competitive with Del Potro back in top form and Nadal showing rare signs of vulnerability early on against Schwartzman.

This match has the makings of an instant classic, especially if Del Potro can win the first set like his countryman did in the quarters. He's one of the few players on tour with the power to consistently challenge the 16-time major champion's typically unbreakable defensive wall on clay.

That said, it's tough to pick against Nadal at Roland-Garros, regardless of the circumstances. His unmatched track record speaks for itself.

Pick: Nadal in five sets