Australian Open Day 11: Match of the Day

Impossible to pick just one match today, so there are three picks that need to be made.

The first women's semi is Kim Clijsters and Victoria Azarenka.

The second women's semi will feature Maria Sharapova and Petra Kvitova.

I'll go against my first instincts and take Azarenka in the first match and then hve to go with Kvitova in the second.  Both matches could be classics.

The men's match is a classic before it is even played.

What more can you say about Federer vs Nadal?

Even though Nadal leads the career series 17-9, it's hard not to like the way Federer is playing.  Let's go with Fed in 4 great sets even though it's hard to not pick Nadal.

Should be a great night of tennis.

Bjorn Again: Frantangelo in Paris, That Is

He wins again, and is in the semi-finals of the French Open Juniors.

I'm talking about American, Bjorn Frantangelo.  He's an Italian-American whi grew up in Pittsburgh, but his father was a big Bjorn Borg fan in the 70's and 80's and hence his first name.

Here's an interview the USTA did with him earlier today and posted on USTA.com.  He's a guy you can really root for.

Here's a short clip of him playing earlier this year on hardcourts.  His game is very Roddick-like, so the results at Roland Garros are a bit of a surprise.  He's one to watch in the next 12 months.

French Open Men's Semi-Final Predictions

The top 4 seeds in a Grand Slam semi-finals.  Does it get any better than that?

Right now it doesn't, but there are some intriguing stories taking place this year in Paris.

Rafa Nadal is going for yet another French Open title and is looking to keep his #1 world ranking.

Andy Murray has dodged all sort of bullets in this event.  He's been like a cat with 9 lives, and I'm not sure if he has any left.

Roger Federer has proved a bunch of people wrong in getting this far, but he's made it here with relative ease.

Novak Djokovic is trying to wrestle the #1 ranking away from Nadal, win another Grand Slam title, and oh by the way, he hasn't lost yet this year.

Predictions:  Nadal and Djokovic.