Serbing it hot: Novak storms into final
Djokovic sends Federer packing in straight sets, to meet Nadal next. Semifinal results | Ruthless Rafa racks up the numbers
Novak Djokovic beat a mistake-prone Roger Federer 6-4, 7-5, 6-3 on Friday to reach his first French Open final and close in on becoming the first man in 43 years with four consecutive Grand Slam titles.
The No. 1-ranked Djokovic lost three previous semifinals at Roland Garros, including last year, when Federer stopped the Serb's 43-match winning streak.
On Friday, 16-time major champion Federer didn't play his best, ending up with 46 unforced errors to Djokovic's 17.
Red-hot Rafa
It seems no man or machine will be able to halt the unstoppable force that is Nadal after the red-hot Spaniard scorched his friend David Ferrer 6-2, 6-2, 6-1 to hurtle into a record seventh French Open final.
Nadal now needs to win just three more sets to become the first man to hold aloft the Musketeers Cup seven times and after pulverising a claycourt specialist such as Ferrer for the loss of just five games, he is once again proving to be unbeatable on red dirt.
A merciless Nadal teased Ferrer in the opening set, tortured him during the second before sucking the life out of the sixth seed in the third to wrap up victory with a forehand winner.
"You cannot expect to win this semi-final in this way against one of the best players in the world - it was my best match at Roland Garros this year," Nadal said after ending Ferrer's ordeal in an hour and 46 minutes.
"David deserved to be in the final too and is one of my best friends on the tour. I wish him all the best for the rest of the season."
Being Nadal's friend is turning out to be dangerous business at Roland Garros this year.He allowed his "good friend" and "one of the best players in the world" Juan Monaco a measly two games in the last 16, he stifled his "buen amigo" and "one of the best players in the world" Nicolas Almagro in straight sets in the quarter-finals and there was a feeling of deja vu for Ferrer on Friday.