'Big 4' Prepare for Battle

Roland Garros has the men’s semi-final line-up it dreamed of, with Djokovic facing Federer while Nadal battles Murray. The French Open title, the world number one ranking and a 41 match unbeaten run; all are at stake on Friday.

Rafa Nadal is a best price of just 2/11 with Coral to book his place in the Paris final despite some indifferent form, by his own very high standards, up to this point. However, his straight sets win over Roger Soderling on Wednesday - the only man to ever beat the Spaniard at Roland Garros - suggests he will still take some beating. Andy Murray is 19/4 to upset the five-time champion, according to Sportingbet. The British number one has already had quite a week having survived a potentially tournament ending ankle injury and come back from two sets down against Viktor Troicki. His tribulations continued on Wednesday when he made an emergency trip to the dentist to repair a tooth cracked while eating a baguette! Nadal is 21/20 to win in straight sets with Boylesports. Murray is 12/1 with PaddyPower to win in five sets again.

Outside of Britain, even greater interest may focus on the Djokovic-Federer clash. The Serbian is just 4/11 with Coral to extend his unbeaten run to 42 matches and claim the number one world ranking in the process. The 16-time Grand Slam winner Federer can be picked up at 5/2 with bet365 to crush his opponent’s dreams. Djokovic is in the unusual position of heading into Friday’s clash having not played competitively since Sunday. His scheduled quarter-final was cancelled after Fabio Fognini withdrew through injury. It remains to be seen if the rest has been helpful, or led to rustiness. The Serbian is 9/5 with Coral to claim the number one spot by virtue of a straight-sets victory.

In the overall betting, Djokovic has maintained favouritism at a best price of 6/5 with Boylesports. Nadal is hot on his heels at 11/8 with Coral. If those two don’t make the final it will be seen as a shock with Federer priced at 15/2 for the title while Murray is as long as 18/1 with VictorChandler.

The women’s competition has thrown up more surprises with Na Li (evens) becoming the first Chinese player to reach the French Open final after defeating Maria Sharapova in straight sets in her semi-final. The sixth seed will now face defending champion Francesca Schiavone who was too strong for Marion Bartoli, and begins as marginal 4/5 favourite with PaddyPower.