PARIS: World number one Novak Djokovic and seven-time champion Rafael Nadal set-up a French Open semi-final blockbuster on Wednesday after straight-sets wins in their last-eight ties.
Top seed Djokovic reached his 12th consecutive Grand Slam semi-final when he defeated gutsy German Tommy Haas 6-3, 7-6 (7/5), 7-5.
Nadal, the second seed, cruised into the last-four with a routine 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 win over Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland as he stepped up his bid to become the first man to win the same Grand Slam title eight times.
Today’s clash will be the 35th meeting between the two with Nadal holding a 12-3 lead on clay.
But Djokovic beat the Spaniard in the Monte Carlo Masters final in April in their most recent meeting.
“I will have to raise my game. Nadal is in great form but the win in Monte Carlo has given me great confidence. I will be positive,” said Djokovic, who lost the 2012 Paris final to Nadal.
Nadal’s win over Wawrinka took his Roland Garros career record to 57-1.
“I think today I played my best match of this year at the tournament. I was very happy with the conditions on a court that is so emotional for me,” said Nadal who now boasts a 10-0 record against Wawrinka.
“Stan was a little bit tired after his incredible match against Richard (Gasquet) which I thought was the best match of the tournament so far.”
Wednesday’s quarter-final proved a match too far for the 35-year-old Haas who was bidding to become the oldest semi-finalist at a major since Andre Agassi at the 2005 US Open.
Djokovic, 26, reeled off breaks in the seventh and ninth games that gave him the first set in which Haas won just a single point on the Serb’s serve.
Haas held on for a second set tie-break but Djokovic powered through that as well, finishing it off with a trademark, deep, booming forehand.
The German, a former world number two whose career has been decimated by a series of injuries, slipped 2-1 down in the third before he converted his first break point to level at 2-2.
Back came Djokovic, breaking again for a 4-3 lead before Haas saved a match point in the ninth game.
He refused to buckle, breaking Djokovic a further time as he served for the match to level at 5-5.
But the Serb wasn’t to be denied taking victory on his second match point.
Wawrinka was far from fresh for his maiden French Open quarter-final.
He had needed treatement for a leg strain during his five-set marathon win over Richard Gasquet in the fourth round when he came back from two sets down.
Nadal broke the Swiss player’s serve in the opening game and then again in the fifth to take the first set 6-2.
The champion then jumped out into a 3-1 lead with another break early in the second set before Wawrinka had a glimmer of hope with a break back to get to 3-3.
But that was as far as it got for the ninth seed as Nadal simply added extra muscle to his pounding groundstrokes, leaving Wawrinka reeling under their weight and precision.
Nadal ran off three quick games in a row to take a two sets to love lead. To make matters even worse, Wawrinka needed further treatment to his strained thigh even before the third set could get underway. — AFP