Djokovic in French Open Semi, Now One Win Away from No. 1

Novak Djokovic has made it into the semifinals of Roland Garros after his quarterfinal opponent Fabio Fognini withdrew due to injury. Djokovic will face either 2009 French Open champ and 16-time major winner Roger Federer, or local hope Gael Monfils. Federer and Monfils play their quarterfinal match tomorrow.

The walkover victory doesn't count towards Novak's current winning streak, so it still stands at 41-0 for the year and 43-0 overall. One more win and his life-long dream of becoming No. 1 in the world becomes a reality. He would also tie the record of 42 wins to start the season set in 1984 by John McEnroe.

With so much at stake in his semifinal match, nerves will definitely play a factor. Can the "super Serb" rise to the occasion once again?

Djokovic-Federer Head-to-Head: 9-13 (3-0 over the last three matches)
Djokovic-Monfils Head-to-Head: 6-0

Djokovic's Unbeaten Streak On the Line Against Del Potro

It is shaping up to be an exciting first week at Roland Garros. After the fans were treated to a five-set first round match featuring holder Rafa Nadal and marathon-man John Isner, a third round blockbuster is on the way.

Soon-to-be-World No. 1 Novak Djokovic is now 39-0 for 2011 (41-0 overall), but none of those wins came against Juan Martin Del Potro, the only other Grand Slam champion outside of the "Big 3" in the French Open Men's Draw. It was Del Potro who halted Federer's five-year run at the US Open, which at that time, seemed improbable.

Djokovic and Del Potro's career head-to-head record is 3-0 in favor of Novak, their last meeting coming at the clay courts of Rome in 2009. An upset seems impossible -- after all, Del Potro is coming off a hip injury and Djokovic's form is nothing but spectacular. Can DelPo score his first W against Djokovic? Let's just hope he doesn't retire even before the match begins.

Prediction: Djokovic over Del Potro in straight sets

French Open "Big 4" Ranking Projections

The French Open is underway!

Here are the "Big 4" ranking projections for Roland Garros:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?hl=en_US&hl=en_US&key=0ArXMd59RqOuFdHA2TTRNYk5nbDZSaG5mN3haZkMwZlE&output=html

Potential Quarterfinal Matchups:
Top half:
[1] Nadal v [5] Soderling
[4] Murray v [8] Melzer

Bottom half:
[2] Djokovic v [6] Berdych
[3] Federer v [7] Ferrer

Unbeatable Djokovic Now Six Wins From No. 1

37-0 to start the year and 39-0 overall. Wins over top-ranked Rafael Nadal in four finals (including two on clay!), over No. 3 Roger Federer in three matches, and over No. 4 Andy Murray (who, at the Rome Masters semifinal was a service game away from snapping the Djokovic streak) in two matches. Win six more in the French Open, and the No. 1 ranking will be his to cap it all off.

What an amazing run indeed for super-Serb Novak Djokovic, who continues to defy all expectations. The biggest test is coming up soon - a probable French Open final against "King of Clay" and five-time champ Rafa Nadal, second only to "King of Clay" and six-time champ Bjorn Borg for the most French Open titles in the Open Era.

Whose Streak Ends First?

Madrid Masters at La Caja Magica sets the stage.

On one end, we have World No. 1 Rafael Nadal, who is yet to concede defeat on clay
since 2010, winning six titles along the way:

[1-0] Madrid (ongoing)
[5-0] Barcelona (2011)
[5-0] Monte Carlo (2011)
[7-0] Roland Garros (2010)
[5-0] Madrid (2010)
[5-0] Rome (2010)
[5-0] Monte Carlo (2010)

On the other end, we have World No. 2 Novak Djokovic, who is perfect thus far in
2011, winning all five tournaments he entered this year:

[2-0] Madrid (ongoing)
[3-0] Belgrade
[6-0] Miami
[6-0] Indian Wells
[7-0] Australian Open
[5-0] Dubai

Sunday's final between Rafa and Nole would be the ideal decider, but let's wait until
then and see if both men survive the quarters and semis.