Jun 8, 2007, 14:50 GMT
Paris, France - Ten-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer and reigning two-time French Open titlist Rafael Nadal will meet in a blockbuster final at Roland Garros for a second straight year here on Sunday.
The top-seeded Federer was anything but sharp in his semifinal, as the Swiss superstar bested fourth-seeded Russian Nikolay Davydenko in 7-5, 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (9-7) fashion on Day 13 at Roland Garros, while the second-seeded Nadal won his 20th straight French Open match by dousing sixth-seeded Serbian Novak Djokovic 7-5, 6-4, 6-2.
Nadal bested Federer in four sets in last year's finale here and erased the Swiss in the 2005 French Open semis.
The 25-year-old Federer needed just over three hours to sneak past Davydenko on Court Chatrier, and prevailed despite piling up 48 unforced errors.
Fortunately for the Swiss great, who ripped 10 aces on his way to the tough victory, Davydenko was even sloppier on Friday, as the Russian committed 58 errors, had five double faults and was broken four times.
Davydenko had an opportunity to get back into the match, as he held a 5-2 lead in the third set, but Federer charged back in the stanza and ultimately came out on top in the tiebreak by converting on a second match point, which came when the Russian misfired wide on a soft two-handed backhand.
'I could have lost in three sets,' Federer said. 'He's an excellent player. It's a superb win for me before the final.'
The 26-year-old Davydenko, who appeared in the Aussie Open quarters back in January, has now lost in two French Open semis in the last three years.
Federer is now 9-0 lifetime against the gritty Davydenko, including 3-0 in Grand Slam events. The Russian also succumbed to the sublime Swiss in last year's Aussie Open quarters and U.S. Open semis.
The reigning three-time year-end No. 1 Federer currently holds the Wimbledon, U.S. Open and Aussie Open crowns and needs the French to complete a career Grand Slam. Legendary Aussie Rod Laver was the last man to hold all four major titles, which he did by sweeping the Grand Slam events in 1969. Federer is also trying to become only the sixth man to corral a career Grand Slam.
Federer will appear in a record eighth straight Grand Slam final (6-1). He's won 10 of the last 15 Grand Slam tournaments overall, going 10-1 in his major finals.
By landing in his eighth consecutive Grand Slam final, Federer broke a record originally set by Jack Crawford from 1933-34. And Federer has won 27 straight Grand Slam matches, which is two shy of a record set by Laver from 1969-70.
The high-flying Federer is 48-15 in his career finals, including 3-1 this season. He beat Chilean Fernando Gonzalez in January's Aussie Open finale.
Nadal topped Djokovic in 2 hours, 28 minutes with the help of six service breaks. The Serbian also piled up 20 more unforced errors (37-17) than his Spanish counterpart.
Djokovic kept things very tight over the first two sets against Nadal, but the Spaniard always appeared to be in control of the high-quality bout on Chatrier. The Serb appeared to run out of gas after dropping the second set, and Nadal ultimately converted on his first match point by firing one final forehand winner.
Nadal is now 4-1 all-time versus Djokovic. The two young stars have already met four times this season, with Nadal also winning in a final at Indian Wells and a quarterfinal in Rome and the Serb coming out on top in a quarterfinal in Miami.
The clay-loving Nadal has never lost at Roland Garros, posting a flawless 20-0 record here over the last three years.
The 21-year-old star, who has yet to drop a set over the last two weeks, will play in his fourth career Grand Slam final (2-1). He's now 3-0 in his French Open semis and is trying to become the first men's three-peat winner at Roland Garros since the great Bjorn Borg captured four straight titles from 1978-1981.
Djokovic appeared in his first-ever Grand Slam semifinal. The rising 20-year- old reached the quarterfinals here a year ago, before losing to Nadal, and is now 10-3 lifetime at Roland Garros.
The determined Nadal is 21-4 in his career finals, including 4-1 this season.
Federer and Nadal will meet for a 12th time, with the Spaniard holding a 7-4 lifetime advantage. The Swiss, however, has won three of their last four meetings, including one in a clay-court final in Hamburg just last month and a victory in last year's Wimbledon finale. The Spaniard, however, is 5-1 in their clay-court matchups, including a title in Monte Carlo back in April.
© 2007 The Sports Network
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