PARIS, June 7 (Reuters) – It was little wonder Maria
Sharapova’s jubilant coach was holding aloft his index finger on
Thursday as the Russian enjoyed a double celebration after
sweeping into her maiden French Open final.

Not only did her 6-3 6-3 defeat of Wimbledon champion Petra
Kvitova allow her to move within two sets of fulfilling her
dream of completing a career grand slam but, after a four-year
wait, she was finally back on top of the world.

PARIS (Reuters) – Novak Djokovic is getting jittery thinking about the “Novak Slam” while Roger Federer is fantasising about “number 17″. Chances are, though, that both aspirations will be smashed into smithereens of red dust by a French Open dream-wrecker called Rafa Nadal.

No-one could accuse Djokovic of being boring or lacking heart as he clung on by his fingertips to his Roland Garros hopes to set up a lip-smacking semi-final with 16-times grand-slam champion Federer.

PARIS (Reuters) – Novak Djokovic is getting jittery thinking about the “Novak Slam” while Roger Federer is fantasizing about “number 17″. Chances are, though, that both aspirations will be smashed into smithereens of red dust by a French Open dream-wrecker called Rafa Nadal.

No-one could accuse Djokovic of being boring or lacking heart as he clung on by his fingertips to his Roland Garros hopes to set up a lip-smacking semi-final with 16-times grand-slam champion Federer.

PARIS, June 7 (Reuters) – Novak Djokovic is getting jittery
thinking about the “Novak Slam” while Roger Federer is
fantasising about “number 17″. Chances are, though, that both
aspirations will be smashed into smithereens of red dust by a
French Open dream-wrecker called Rafa Nadal.

No-one could accuse Djokovic of being boring or lacking
heart as he clung on by his fingertips to his Roland Garros
hopes to set up a lip-smacking semi-final with 16-times
grand-slam champion Federer.

PARIS (Reuters) – There is a reason why Rafa Nadal is called “the Boss” by Nicolas Almagro and on Wednesday the ruthless claycourt king fired his fellow-Spaniard in his pursuit of a record seventh Roland Garros title.

Nadal defeated Almagro 7-6 6-2 6-3 to put another Spaniard David Ferrer in the firing line in Friday’s French Open semi-finals.

PARIS, June 6 (Reuters) – There is a reason why Rafa Nadal
is called “the Boss” by Nicolas Almagro and on Wednesday the
ruthless claycourt king fired his fellow-Spaniard in his pursuit
of a record seventh Roland Garros title.

Nadal defeated Almagro 7-6 6-2 6-3 to put another Spaniard
David Ferrer in the firing line in Friday’s French Open
semi-finals.

PARIS (Reuters) – An afternoon of eavesdropping and people watching in Paris awaited Maria Sharapova as she crept closer to fulfilling her burning desire to hold aloft the Suzanne Lenglen Cup by setting up a French Open semi-final date with Petra Kvitova.

The statuesque Russian would like nothing better than to eavesdrop on Kvitova’s semi-final tactics as she bids to clear the final hurdles blocking her path towards completing a career grand slam and reclaiming the world number one ranking.

PARIS, June 6 (Reuters) – An afternoon of eavesdropping and
people watching in Paris awaited Maria Sharapova as she crept
closer to fulfilling her burning desire to hold aloft the
Suzanne Lenglen Cup by setting up a French Open semi-final date
with Petra Kvitova.

The statuesque Russian would like nothing better than to
eavesdrop on Kvitova’s semi-final tactics as she bids to clear
the final hurdles blocking her path towards completing a career
grand slam and reclaiming the world number one ranking.

PARIS (Reuters) – With Roger Federer a point away from going two sets down in his French Open quarter-final, his wife Mirka was spotted in the players’s box sitting with her palms pressed together – perhaps praying for some divine intervention.

To many tennis fans Federer is already a god when he is let loose on a rectangular surface but Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro made him look like a mere mortal for an hour and 39 minutes on Tuesday.

PARIS, June 5 (Reuters) – With Roger Federer a point away
from going two sets down in his French Open quarter-final, his
wife Mirka was spotted in the players’s box sitting with her
palms pressed together – perhaps praying for some divine
intervention.

To many tennis fans Federer is already a god when he is let
loose on a rectangular surface but Argentine Juan Martin Del
Potro made him look like a mere mortal for an hour and 39
minutes on Tuesday.