Although I like Ricky's brave prediction I'm not going to pick Roger based on what I've seen from Nole this year. I'll say Nole 6-4, 4-6, 7-5, 6-4

Murray has had a great draw but would be shocked if he beat Rafa with a bum ankle and seemingly afraid to slide. He should be more aggressive at least though.
Rafa 6-3, 5-7, 6-3, 6-2

love the nicknames, haha. i'm hoping for a fedal final. been a while since we had one in a slam

Eager to know why Ricky has picked Fed now when his pre tournament start pick was Djokovic for the champion. What has changed? Djoko is still playing as well as he was.

Nole's winning streak would have to come to an end. Everybody keeps saying the way he's playing he can't lose, but there will come a time when somebody is playing better than him and beats him. I can't remember who Nole had played against in the first two rounds, I remember he played against Delpo in R3 and Gasquet in R4. In his match against Delpo, he showed some signs of vulnerablity, a top form Fed maybe will capitalize on that. I like Fed's chance against Nole here, they may go to five sets, with Fed edging out a win.

For Rafa vs Murray, I think Rafa will win, in three or four sets.

ricky, its vamosrafa not vrael !! LOL

Fed will give it his all because he badly wants another clay slam title because Rafa now has 2 grass titles which is Fed's patch. I don't think Nole will be affected by lack of match play at all, I'm sure he's been practicing like mad.

I hope Rafa doesn't get drawn into a four or five setter and I really, really hope he wins. Murray has a habit of deploying all his ammunition against Rafa so I will not make too much of the troubles Murray has had coming through the other rounds. He gets a certain adenalin rush when he sees Rafa on the other side of the net. I was sure Rafa would beat Sod, this time I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

Murray's injury doesn't seem to be inhibiting his movement at all.

i don't know why..but murray always plays his best against nadal...

so nadal vs murray

6-7,4-6,6-3,6-7

fedex vs joker

6-3, 6-4,7-6

chenna,
You are brave to predict a straight set win of all wins for Fed tomorrow. Or more likely it is more a case of wishful thinking than the most realistic prediction you can make?

Fed has his chances, for sure... but more than likely Nole will win. If not it will go at least to 4 sets.

chenna - who do you have winning each match???

vamosrafa - LOLOL. Opps! Fixed.

lol , funny it was :D

First semi:
Rafa, 7-5 6-4 6-2

Second semi:
I pick Roger as well, and if Djokovic has to lose, I hope Ricky's prediction is correct!
Roger, 7-5 4-6 7-6 6-3.

LOL at Ricky picking Fed over Djoker.

SF1: Nadal over Murray in 5: 6-7, 7-5, 6-3, 2-6, 6-2

SF2: Djokovic over Fed in 3: 7-5, 7-6. 6-2.

Is _anybody_ picking Murray? He could be the surprise of the tournament!

stu - Murray will give it his all against Nadal and put the Spaniard in loads to trouble. But I still think it still won't be enough. Nadal will remember he is on his beloved clay, and ultimately prevail in a 5 sets, 4 1/2 hr marathon match..

stu,
chennai has murray win in 4 (w Rafa winning the 3rd set)

thanks chloro, took me some time to realize that!

brave picks, chenna21!

nadal over murray 6-4,6-3,6-4
federer over djokovic 7-6,3-6,6-4,6-4

I'm surprised not a lot of people are giving Fed a shot against Djokovic. He's played very well all tournament long, and despite the fact he's lost to Djokovic 3 times this year, that really means nothing tomorrow. Despite not being a fan of Fed, I'm gonna go out on a limb and say he sends Nole packing tomorrow, ending that streak as well.

Far as Murray/Nadal is concerned, nothing is ever easy when anyone plays Murray. Rafa's always had some rather tough battles with him over the years. I'd be kinda surprised if this came out to be a one-sided match. Murray's had a bit of a rough road to the semis, and even though his last two opponents had their opportunities, they let Murray off the hook. That won't be the case with Rafa, because if he gets off to a great start and dictates plays throughout most of the match, Murray will definitely not be the winner, just that plain and simple. The win over Soderling was a boost for Rafa's confidence I'm sure, and now that he appears to be getting his game back, I expect no letdown for Rafa in this one. Rafa in 3.......maybe 4.

Prediction: Nadal/Federer Final on Sunday

Nadal 7-5 6-4 6-2
Djokovic 4-6 7-6 7-6 3-6 6-2

a bit too nervous to predict. if its fed, it'll be in 4-5 sets. if its nole, 3 or 4. shouldnt this semi be played first, given tht both nadal/murray played on wednesday?

Though Fed hasn't won a slam for more than a year, people are scared of saying he can't win unless he loses!
But Fed win chance is very low. So don't be nervous mriidula. Nole is going to win unless he is injured or ill or suffers from nerves. His game is now a distinct notch above Fed's.

Rafa in three: 6-4,7-5,6-3
Fed in five: 6-4,7-5, 6-7, 4-6, 8-6

luckystar: You picking against someone who hasn't lost for 6 months? Also beat the king of clay twice. What has Fed done on clay this year ? (lost to Gasquet of all people).

Rafa in four: 7-5, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4

Djokovic in four: 6-4, 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-4

mriidula - no, NBC wants Fed-Djoker

i picked murray because..in every match i observed, for every game the opponent has to play atleast 4 to 5 game ponts and he is saving atleast 2 to 3 break points..he is the one who saved most no of breakpoints...he just came back from brink of defeat in each and every set in last 2 matches...

against rafa he is very much careful..and i am not satisfied with rafa's performance


fedex vs joker....i feel in first set the mighty fedex will show up it will be over in half our...2nd set bit of struggle but will be over...third set as usual he will drop his concentration and it may go to tiebreak..in these 5 matches i observed that fedex is trying for each and every point..he is focussed.

Super LOL @ricky

Happy 25th rafael....VAAAMOS!!!!!!!!

rafa in 3...6-4,7-6,6-3
Novak in 4...6-4,4-6,7-5,6-3

chenna21 love your pick, love your reasons...but...even Andy fans aren't picking him on clay...;) Rafa 6-4, 5-7, 6-3, 6-1. Nole 6-4, 6-7, 6-2, 6-1.

Rafa in 3 : 6-0, 6-3, 7-6
Nole: 6-4,7-5,6-3

Rafa : 6-4, 7-5, 6-4
Djokovic 6-2, 3-6, 7-5, 7-6(4)

imjimmy, why question my prediction, didn't Ricky do the same by picking Fed? Unlike you and some here, I don't see Nole as invincible or unbeatable. He showed cracks in his game during the Delpo match. He could be frustrated and tightened up when under pressure, which explained why Fed was putting pressure on Nole by saying what he said in his interviews.

OTOH, Fed is playing better and better each match. His match against Monfils was played in windy conditions and he came through in straight sets. Both Fed and Rafa are veterans, and can handle any situation and condition on the court. They know how to adjust to the windy conditions, where Sod and Monfils clearly couldn't do as well. Both handled their tricky opponents very well and wasted no time in dispatching them in straights. I'll not doubt Fed if he plays with his varieties and not being stubborn and rally from the baseline the whole day. If Delpo can get a set off Nole, how then will Fed lose in straight sets to Nole? He'll probably push it to five sets where the pressure will build up for both, whoever takes the pressure better will win in the end.

For the first time Djokovic will play as the favourite when playing Fed in a slam

He can tighten up especially if the match is close.

Those picking Federer - except for Ricky - are just hoping he wins for obvious reasons :D

Nole to whoop Federer in the semis and then beat Rafa convincingly in the finals.

im going to pick federer as well... in 3 also. djokovic is in for a surprise.

Nadal in 3 7-5, 6-4, 6-4
Fed in 4 7-5, 6-4,4-6, 7-6

Neither have been remotely convincing (and no, the Soderling match has to be included in that)
But Nadal will win for sure.
But it will be interesting to see how well he wins against this Murray who needs to rest up for the Real Deal later this month.

Happy Birthday Rafa.....

SF1- 6/2, 7/5, 6/4 to Rafa
SF2- 7/5, 7/5, 7/5 to Novak

^^^^ triple 5s. Epic.

My Rafa-Muzz prediction might be close! with the first and second set scores swapped :)

sanju - Djokovic lost a set to Delpo and sets three and four were closer than the score suggested.

also, Federer has been playing better than expected throughout the tournament.

Also, 4 day layoff is NOT going to help Djokovic.

i did beat the experts on this one and my score line is fairly close but OMG vmk1 got is 100% correct wow mate ! lol

Yes congrats to Rafa! He really wins in straight sets, just like what I've predicted! Yeh, what a birthday present for Rafa! Vamos!! Next go claim your prize on Sunday!!

vmk - DANG, that's amazing. Well done!

vmk1 - holy cow!!!!!!!!!

WOW...vmk1....

Is vmk the first ever to get the score absolutely spot on?

Well Done!

Wow so Fed into the French Open final! We are finally having a Fedal final again in a slam! So the FO still belongs to Fedal!!

Wow what a match, Congrats to Federer, commies to Nole. So Fed is the one ending Nole's winning streak! The old Master is really something! Who dares to underestimate the Master? See, Fed really plays well here, and my prediction about Fed beating Nole is, well, not without basis. Thanks Fed for confirming by belief.

All the best to Fedal in the final! I always love a Fedal match, especially when it is a slam final!

It seems appropriate that the last man to beat Nole last year is also the first one this year. We had two great matches today and now it's on to the final. I'm hoping for an epic Roger/Rafa final, but I get the feeling Roger has given his best in today's match and Rafa will make Sunday's a very quick affair, reminiscent of the 2008 RR final.

CALLED IT!!!!!

TopDog wins, and vmk1 gets honors for exact score of Nadal. If either one of you wants in on the final expert picks, email me - ridimon@gmail.com - paragraph of analysis and exact score.

Congrats Ricky. Only expert to get it right this time, you even got the 1st set tie-break.

Congrats Ricky :)

oh alright then, well done ricky.
I get on your case when you're off the mark, so gotta give credit where it's due.

Danke, dhanyavad, Gracias, Thank you is a an honour to do it on Rafa's birthday!! Hope I get the final score right too if not the score line at least the results :)