Events / Ben Caudell / 02 May 2009 /

The Rome Master Series has reached the semi final stage with the top three seeds still to drop a set. Not since 1981 have the top three in the world advanced to this stage in Rome. But who does Ben Caudell believe will prevail today?

The first of today's semi-finals sees Roger Federer take on Novak Djokovic.

Federer has won seven of the last 10 encounters against the Serb however Djokovic won their last match-up with a three set victory in Miami over a month ago.

My predictions yesterday were spot on as Fernando Gonzalez rallied for the second match in a row against qualifier Juan Monaco to win 2-6 6-3 6-4. We managed to back the Chilean at [1.4] to win the match and at [4.0] to win 2-1.

He now faces an almost impossible task against the clay court king Rafael Nadal to reach his first ever Rome final.

Nadal will be gunning for his fourth title in Rome where he and Thomas Muster are the only players to have won three titles in the open era...

Today's Selections

Rafael Nadal (SPA) v Fernando Gonzalez (CHI)
Rafael leads the series 5-3 in their head-to-heads, not since January 2007 has the Chilean defeated the Spanish Bull, a straight sets quarter-final win at the Australian Open. This match being on clay will represent a more challenging experience for Gonzalez. We are all aware of Nadal's exploits on the red stuff and with the Spaniard's own admission that he didn't play well against fellow compatriot Fernando Verdasco in the previous round, there will be a lot more in the tank for Rafa who is still to drop a set. The outcome of this match is simple to predict - Nadal will win - but the question is by how many games!

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