Rafael Nadal, the 11-time Roland Garros champion, leads 2009 titlist Roger Federer 6-3, 6-4 in their semi-final on Friday, played in tough conditions on Court Philippe-Chatrier.

Nadal, who has a 13-2 FedEx ATP Head2Head record against Federer in their clay-court matches, is 91-2 at the Grand Slam championship in Paris. The victor will play World No. 1 and 2016 winner Novak Djokovic or last year’s runner-up Dominic Thiem in Sunday’s final.

In less than perfect conditions, with light rain and gusts of wind recorded at more than 39 miles per hour, Nadal saved one break point in the first game and grew in confidence. Federer struggled, unsure of his groundstroke timing, and struck a backhand into the net on Nadal’s third break point in the second game. Nadal came within a point of leading 4-1, but Federer held on and sealed his first service break with Nadal over-hit a backhand.

Nadal’s depth of groundstroke continued to pressurise Federer, who saved four break points in a 20-point sixth game. But on Nadal’s fifth opportunity, he forced Federer to play one extra stroke and took a 4-2 led with a forehand error from the Swiss. Nadal went on to close out the opener with a terrific backhand crosscourt winner – his eighth of the 51-minute first set.

Federer committed 17 unforced errors, the majority coming in the first three games, before he settled. With clay dust blowing around the main show court, both players needed to take their time before delivering serves. At the President’s Box end, through to the end of the first set, the average game time was two minutes, 19 seconds and five minutes, 49 seconds at the other end of the court.

Federer took a 2-0 lead at the start of the second set when Nadal struck a backhand down the line long at 30/40. Minutes later, Nadal bounced back. Defending deep behind the baseline, Nadal converted his third break point chance with a forehand winner off a Federer smash.

Federer, serving first in the set, applied the pressure, hitting deep and approaching the net at the right times, but Nadal was locked in on his groundstroke length and found gaps in the court. At 4-4, Federer led 40/0 but Nadal recovered with relentless consistency and won his fifth straight point to break with a forehand volley. Nadal then closed out the second set, which lasted 50 minutes, with a hold to love.

Second seed Rafael Nadal and third seed Roger Federer will renew their treasured rivalry in semi-final action on Friday at Roland Garros. The winner will face top seed Novak Djokovic or fourth seed Dominic Thiem in the championship match.

“I’m very happy to play Rafa because if you want to do or achieve something on clay, inevitably, at some stage you will go through [him],” said Federer. “I knew that when I signed up for the clay [and] hoped it was going to happen. If I would have had a different mindset to avoid him, then I should not have played the clay.”

Who will win the latest @FedEx ATP Head2Head clash between these players?#RG19

— ATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) June 6, 2019

Nadal leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry with Federer 23-15, but Federer has won their past five matches. The Spaniard leads their series on clay 13-2 and has won their past four meetings on the surface, but they haven’t played on it since the 2013 Internazionali BNL d’Italia final. Nadal has won all five of their previous clashes at this event, prevailing in the 2005 semi-finals and championship matches in 2006-2008 and 2011.

Although Federer hasn’t beaten Nadal on clay since the 2009 Mutua Madrid Open final, he believes he can reverse the trend.

“Like against any player, there is always a chance. Otherwise nobody will be in the stadium to watch because everybody already knows the result in advance,” said Federer. “That’s exactly what everybody believes by facing Rafa.

“They know it’s going to be tough. [But] he might have a problem. He might be sick. You might be playing great or for some reason he’s struggling. Maybe there’s incredible wind, rain, 10 rain delays. You just don’t know. That’s why you need to put yourself in that position.”

Competing in the second major of the year for the first time since 2015, Federer has dropped just one set in reaching the semi-finals. The 2009 champion holds a 70-16 career record at this event and has reached at least the semi-finals in eight of his 12 most recent appearances. But despite his impressive credentials, Federer will arrive on Court Philippe-Chatrier as the on-paper underdog against Nadal and that could aid him in swinging freely.

More On Roger vs Rafa, XXXIX
* The Rivalry: 12 Stats You Need To Know
* Federer & Nadal’s 10 Best Quotes About Each Other
* The History Of Nadal vs. Federer In Paris
* Can You Pass Our Federer-Nadal Quiz?
* Roger & Rafa: Every Match Ever Played

Nadal has put himself in position to win a 12th title at this event. The two-time defending champion has also only dropped one set this fortnight, but his scorelines throughout the tournament have been even more dominant than Federer’s. Nadal holds a staggering 91-2 record in Paris and has reached at least the semi-finals in 12 of 15 career appearances.

But while the Spaniard is highly familiar with the business end of this tournament, he views Friday’s match as one of the most important of his career.

“Playing Roger again in [the] semi-finals, these are the moments for which we are working on a daily basis and for which we get prepared as best we can,” said Nadal. “Beyond winning or not, we really want to be competitive and to fight in the most correct way and to enjoy that.”

Typical to Nadal’s character, he shunned suggestions that he’s the favourite to win. He pointed out that he hasn’t beaten the Swiss star since the 2014 Australian Open and said that Federer remains one of the most dangerous clay-court players on tour.

Read: Nadal On Federer: ‘We Shared The Most Important Moments’

“He came back on clay because he’s a player who is comprehensive, who plays well on all surfaces. And he has good chances of winning on clay,” said Nadal. He’s coming back because he wants to do so. If he feels in good shape physically, he should not leave out a main part of the season.

“I have to be solid. If I am able to play good tennis and play well with my forehand and backhand, I hope to put him in trouble. If not, I will be in trouble.”

ORDER OF PLAY – FRIDAY, 7 JUNE 2019

Court Philippe Chatrier start 12:50pm
[3] Roger Federer vs [2] Rafael Nadal
followed by
[1] Novak Djokovic vs [4] Dominic Thiem

Top seed Novak Djokovic and fourth Dominic Thiem look to cement their outstanding Roland Garros form with a place in Sunday’s championship match. The winner will play second seed Rafael Nadal or third seed Roger Federer on Sunday.

The World No. 1 has won his past 26 Grand Slam matches and is two wins away from completing a second “Nole Slam” by holding all four majors at once. Djokovic looks to join Rod Laver as the only players in history to accomplish this on two separate occasions. He also seeks to become the first man in the Open Era to win each of the four Grand Slams twice.

Read: Laver Talks Djokovic’s Pursuit Of ‘Nole Slam’

“The sense of history-making is only getting stronger. That’s one of the greatest motivations I have,” said Djokovic. “There is no better way to make history in the sport than to win slams and play your best in the biggest events, and obviously try to stay No. 1 as long as you can. Those are the pinnacle achievements that you can have in our sport.”

Djokovic leads his FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry with Thiem 6-2, but both of Thiem’s wins have come on clay. They’ve split their two previous Roland Garros meetings. Djokovic prevailed in the 2016 semi-finals and Thiem turned the tables in the 2017 quarter-finals. The World No. 1 won their most recent clash last month in the Mutua Madrid Open semi-finals.

Who will win the ninth @FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting between these players?#RG19

— ATP Tour (@ATP_Tour) June 6, 2019

Despite a track record of success against Thiem, he won’t take the Austrian lightly when they meet on Friday.

“Dominic is deservedly where he is [as] one of the top four guys, especially on clay. That’s where he’s playing his best tennis,” said Djokovic. “He’s got that tremendous power in his game, especially with his forehand and serve. I think his backhand also has improved a lot in the last couple of years.

“It seems like his relationship with Nicolas Massu has helped him a lot, also mentally, in big matches. If he continues playing this way, not just on clay but in general, I think we will probably be seeing him more often on different surfaces in the final stages of the tournament.”

The Serbian is through to the Roland Garros semi-finals for the ninth time and did so without dropping a set. He leads the four semi-finalists in service games held throughout the tournament.

Serving Stats Of 2019 Roland Garros Semi-finalists

**Serving stats courtesy of SMT

Djokovic’s clay-court season includes his 33rd ATP Masters 1000 title at the Mutua Madrid Open. Djokovic’s win in the final over Stefanos Tsitsipas was his 200th victory over a Top 10 player. He also finished runner-up in Rome (l. to Nadal).

Thiem has once again turned in a solid clay-court season. In addition to his semi-final finish in Madrid, the 25-year-old defeated Nadal en route to taking the title at the Barcelona Open Banc Sabadell without dropping a set (d. Medvedev). He holds a 21-3 record at the second major of the year since 2016. By reaching his fourth Grand Slam semi-final, he tied Thomas Muster’s record for most Grand Slam semi-final appearances by an Austrian player, man or woman.

Read: Massu: ‘Thiem Works, Thinks & Seeks To Be No. 1’

Thiem has continued to raise his level against the world’s best. He’s won eight of his past nine matches against Top 20 players, with two of those victories coming this fortnight. Last month’s loss against Djokovic is the only defeat in that stretch.

But despite his impressive results, Thiem is aware of the aura surrounding the other semi-finalists.

“They have a huge advantage only because of their name,” said Thiem. “I think many players don’t really believe that they can beat them, which is well-deserved because of all the success and which is also understandable, in a way. But I will step on the court tomorrow and of course give everything. I hope it’s going to be positive in the end, but the challenge is huge.”

Read: The Future Of The One-Handed Backhand

Thiem has a track record of success against the Big Three and has beaten all of them at least twice on clay. Although he isn’t underestimating the challenge he faces, the Austrian is choosing to embrace it.

“It’s incredibly difficult to win a Grand Slam. Especially for us players who don’t have one yet, if everything goes normally, we have to beat two players with 15 or more Grand Slams. I think everybody can imagine how difficult this is,” said Thiem. “Novak is in very good shape again, probably playing his best tennis of his life. I’m in the semifinals with maybe the three best players of all time, so it’s exciting for me.”

Dominic Thiem knows he’s up against it at Roland Garros. If he gets through World No. 1 Novak Djokovic on Friday for a place in the final for the second successive year, he’ll play 11-time champion Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer.

He has a shot, as one of the most consistent clay-court performers of the past four years, but only a slim one if history is anything to go by. Because on 10 of the 11 occasions that the Big Three have all reached the semi-finals of the same Grand Slam championship, one of them has lifted the trophy.

Thiem, who swept past Karen Khachanov 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 at Roland Garros on Thursday afternoon, said, “It’s incredibly difficult to win a Grand Slam, especially for us players who haven’t won one yet. Because if everything goes quite normal, we have to beat two players with 15 or more Grand Slams.

“But I will step on the court tomorrow, try everything, of course, [and] give everything. I hope it’s going to be positive in the end, but the challenge is huge. Novak is in very good shape again, probably playing his best tennis of his life. I’m in the semi-finals with maybe the three best players of all time, so everybody can see how tough the way it is for me.”

The exception to Big Three dominance, when all three were competing in a major semi-final, came at the 2009 US Open, when Juan Martin del Potro recorded back-to-back wins over Nadal in the semi-finals and Federer in a five-set final.

Factor in that Nadal has history on his side at Roland Garros, where he has lifted La Coupe des Mousquetaires on 11 occasions and compiled a 91-2 record, and the challenge for not only Thiem, but Djokovic and Federer becomes even tougher. The Spaniard has a perfect 22-0 record on Parisian clay when he has reached the semi-finals and in 2007-08, 2011-12, when Djokovic and Federer also competed in the Roland Garros semi-finals, Nadal came out victorious each time in the final.

Nadal also won the 2010 US Open crown, when Djokovic and Federer featured in the semi-finals. By the same parameters, Djokovic has lifted three majors at the Australian Open (2008 and 2012) and at the US Open (2011), while Federer captured two crowns, his fifth straight titles at both 2007 Wimbledon and at the 2008 US Open.

Big Three Grand Slam Titles When All Reach The SFs

Incredibly, Friday’s semi-finals will not only feature the top four seeds for the first time since the 2012 Australian Open (Djokovic, Nadal, Federer, Andy Murray), but the Paris major’s finale will feature Djokovic, Nadal and Federer together in the final four of a Grand Slam championship for the first time since 2012 Roland Garros.

That year, Nadal won the 11th of his 17 major championship titles by beating Djokovic 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 in the Spaniard’s seventh Roland Garros final. Federer had lost to Djokovic 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 in the semi-finals two days earlier.

“The surface doesn’t matter against them,” said Thiem. “All of them have won all four [Grand] Slams, so… they are so tough on any of the surfaces. They are the only three [in the history of tennis] with 15-plus Grand Slams [singles trophies]. That shows it all.

“I’m now in the semis here for the fourth time, and I know now how tough it is to get here, to get that deep in a tournament. And, I mean, these three, they have been doing it [for] 10, 15 years, almost at any Grand Slam. So that shows what their level is… they are absolutely amazing.”

“But on the other hand, I know all three of them. I have played many, many times against all of them. I feel really good in their company. But I’m trying everything to beat them.”

At this year’s Roland Garros, Nadal will play Federer for the 39th time in their legendary FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry on Friday, in the first match on Court Philippe-Chatrier, while Djokovic takes a 6-2 advantage over Thiem into their semi-final. Last month, Djokovic beat Thiem 7-6(2), 7-6(4) in the Mutua Madrid Open semi-finals.

The Last Time The Big Three Made The SFs Together At The…
Australian Open: 2012
Roland Garros: 2019
Wimbledon: 2007
US Open: 2011

– Research courtesy of Greg Sharko and Joshua Rey