All eyes are on Federer-Djokovic

Associated Press

PARIS

Even Rafael Nadal acknowledges his French Open semifinal against Andy Murray is not nearly as intriguing as the one between unbeaten Novak Djokovic and 16-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer.

“It’s the best player of today against the best player in history. ... It’s going to be a beautiful match,” Nadal said. “I would watch it — if I was a spectator.”

Sure, there’s a lot on the line for the entire quartet of men who’ll be playing at Roland Garros today, which one might expect, given that it’s only the 12th time in the Open era that the top four seeded players reached the semifinals at a Grand Slam tournament.

Top-seeded Nadal is bidding to tie Bjorn Borg’s record of six French Open championships. No. 4 Murray is dealing with an injured right ankle as he hopes to win his first Grand Slam title — and give Britain its first male champion at a major tennis tournament since 1936.

No. 3 Federer has gone more than 16 months without reaching a Grand Slam final, which doesn’t sound too bad unless you consider it’s his longest gap since he won Wimbledon in 2003.

Lofty aims, certainly. But nothing compared to what No. 2 Djokovic is chasing: The 24-year-old Serb is 41-0 in 2011, and a win over Federer would allow him to tie John McEnroe’s record for best start to a season in the Open era in 1984.

“To be honest, I’m thinking about this tournament only. I definitely want to go as far as I can in Roland Garros. And then … if the No. 1 ranking comes this week, I’ll be more than happy, definitely,” he said.