Nadal closes in on another title

Associated Press

PARIS

On his way to the locker room after his 20th consecutive victory on clay, Rafael Nadal was pressed in an on-court interview to declare himself the man to beat at this year’s upset-filled French Open.

“Right now,” Nadal insisted, “there is no one favorite.”

Sure, Rafa.

Heading into today’s semifinals, the second-seeded Nadal stands out: He is the only remaining player to have won a title at any of tennis’ Grand Slam tournaments. He owns six major championships in all, including four in a row at Roland Garros from 2005 to 2008.

Two of the other men, No. 15 Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic and No. 22 Jurgen Melzer of Austria, are first-time Grand Slam semifinalists. As Berdych put it after his quarterfinal victory: “It’s nice to be here.”

No. 5 Robin Soderling of Sweden, meanwhile, will be playing in only his second major semifinal.

Then again, let’s not forget that Soderling is the only man to ever have beaten Nadal in the French Open: The Spaniard was 31-0 for his career at the clay-court Grand Slam tournament before losing to Soderling in the fourth round last year. Soderling went on to lose to Roger Federer in the final.

Showing that his 2009 run in Paris was no fluke, Soderling pulled off another surprise by beating the top-seeded Federer in the quarterfinals Tuesday.

All of which is why people are starting to look ahead, thinking about the intriguing possibility of seeing a Nadal vs. Soderling rematch in Sunday’s final.

Not so fast, warns Nadal, who can overtake Federer for the No. 1 ranking by winning the title. First things first: Nadal plays Melzer in one semifinal, while Soderling faces Berdych in the other.

“I never think about revenge,” said Nadal, who turned 24 on Thursday. “And I am in [the] semifinals against Melzer. ... So I am focused on that match right now, no?”

Not that Nadal needs help on his favorite surface, mind you, but the guy is winding his way through an easier path than might have been expected.

In the quarterfinals, he played No. 19 Nicolas Almagro, instead of No. 7 Fernando Verdasco. Now he takes on Melzer — a 29-year-old player never before past the third round at any Grand Slam tournament in 31 previous tries, and someone who’s never beaten Nadal — instead of No. 3 Novak Djokovic, the 2008 Australian Open champion who’s defeated the Spaniard seven times.

Still, regardless of the opponent, Nadal is back to his usual dominance on clay.