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Roger Federer To Meet Juan Martin del Potro In Semifinals
French Open "Paris Picks" - Day 13

By Tripp Mateschitz, Lawn Tennis Analyst, Posted: Thursday, June 4, 2009 6:36pm PST USA
Roger Federer To Meet Juan Martin del Potro In Semifinals, The French Open, Roland Garros 2009, Lawn Tennis Magazine Paris--(lawntennis.org) In his twentieth consecutive grand slam semifinal appearance, the world number two Roger Federer of Switzerland takes on the towering fifth seeded Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina in the French Open semifinals Friday in the match of the day.

The 23rd seeded Robin Soderling meets the 12th seeded Fernando Gonzalez to round out the men's semifinals.

Roger Federer of Switzerland, Juan Martin del Potro of Argentina | Images: Getty Images
Lawn Tennis Magazine, The French Open, Roland Garros 2009 Lawn Tennis Magazine, The French Open, Roland Garros 2009
Federer leads del Potro 5-0 head to head and has never lost a set to the Argentine.

Robin Soderling (SWE)[23] vs. Fernando Gonzalez (CHI)[12]
Soderling rocked the men's draw with his stunning upset of the world number one and defending champion Rafael Nadal of Spain in the fourth round. In the quarterfinals, he then staged another upset win, defeating the 10th seeded Nikolay Davydenko of Russia in straight sets, losing only five games.

Soderling trails Gonzalez head to head 3-4 and has lost their last four meetings. However the two have not faced off since 2007.

Gonzalez prefers clay more than the Swede. But if Soderling can continue to connect with explosive forehands and serves reaching 140 miles per hour, he can turn the match into a hardcourt type of contest, which would work in his favor.

Winner: Soderling

Juan Martin Del Potro (ARG)[5] v. Roger Federer (SUI)[2]
The South American del Potro has only lost one set in Paris this year and at 6 feet 6 inches tall overpowers the many of his opponents. But after losing to Nadal the last four years in Paris, Federer will sense this is his chance to win finally the French Open, which has in the past been so elusive to him.

Federer leads del Potro 5-0 head to head and has never lost a set to the Argentine. At the Madrid semifinals last month Federer won their last encounter 6-3, 6-4 and I look for a similar scoreline tomorrow.

Del Potro is a clean hitter from the baseline but Federer is an even better hitter and possesses much more experience. If Federer can keep the points short and the taller player off balance, he should cruise one step closer towards the title of the greatest male tennis player ever.

Winner: Federer

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