World No.2 Rafael Nadal and World No.4 Andy Murray have advanced to the 2011 French Open semi-finals and will square off, Friday June 3rd, for a chance to meet Novak Djokovic or Roger Federer in the finals. This will be the 15th time that Nadal and Murray square off. French Open oddsmakers have Rafael Nadal as -750 moneyline favourite over Andy Murray (+450). Be sure to get your 2011 French Open: Andy Murray vs Rafael Nadal Semi-finals predictions in early.
First-time semi-finalist Andy Murray is looking to reach his first clay-court final, while Rafael Nadal is chasing a record sixth Roland Garros title
This will be the 15th time that Nadal and Murray will be facing off, and their first meeting since the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, when the British No. 1 succeeded in taking a set off of Nadal for the first time in three clay matches.
Though Nadal leads the FedEx ATP Head2Head 10-4, including a 3-2 mark in Grand Slam action, he anticipated a fight against Murray, who nearly ended Novak Djokovic’s winning streak three weeks ago when he served for a place in the Internazionali BNL d’Italia final.
“In Rome I think he played fantastic match in semi-finals against Djokovic. Was the closest player to beat him this year, so he’s doing great,” said Nadal. “Right now he is in semi-finals [after a] tough match against Troicki the other day, saving important moments. So he’s coming with confidence, and it will be a very difficult match for me in semi-finals.”
Underdog ALERT! Nadal has already spent 14 hours on court so far – the longest duration of the four semi-finalists and six hours more than Djokovic. Additionally, he’s dropped 64 games total through his first five matches; in comparison, he lost just 25 games en route to the 2008 semi-finals.
Andy Murray vs Rafael Nadal
When: Friday, June 3, 7:00 AM ET
Pick: Nadal -750
Point-Spreads.com 2011 French Open: Andy Murray vs Rafael Nadal Semi-final Odds & Predictions
The Bottom Line: Murray can take it if he forces Nadal to run, tire him out. Be sure to get your 2011 French Open: Andy Murray vs Rafael Nadal predictions in early.
