Today, French Open No. 3 Rafael Nadal will square off against Stanislas Wawrinka, the No. 9 ranked player. Nadal has won the last three French Opens, and could be headed for a showdown with No. 1 Novak Djokovic in the semifinals if he's able to overcome Wawrinka. Follow along Nadal's quest for a fourth consecutive semifinal birth by clicking this link.
While Nadal has been dominant throughout his career on the clay, he's won seven of the last eight French Opens, he has struggled at times in this tournament, falling in the first set of his first two matches. Nadal is the heavy favorite today, but that doesn't mean much once the matches begin.
No. 2 Roger Federer learned that the hard way yesterday, falling in straight sets to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the big, hard-hitting Frenchman who pleased the supportive crowd. Nadal isn't up against a hometown favorite, but Wawrinka did pull off an impressive upset in the fourth round over No. 7 Richard Gasquet, another Frenchman.
Wawrinka hasn't dominated a match since the second round of the French Open, but Nadal has rounded into form after his first two slow starts. Unlike Tsonga with the home crowd, and physical advantages over Federer, Wawrinka faces a much steeper climb if he's to advance to the semifinals against Djokovic or Tommy Haas.
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