Federer beats Djokovic to meet Nadal in French Open finals

Paris: No go, Djoko. It’s Roger vs. Rafa in the French Open final once again. Novak Djokovic’s perfect season and 43-match winning streak were ended by Roger Federer in the semifinals at Roland Garros.

The 16-time Grand Slam champion beat the second-seeded Serb 7-6 (5), 6-3, 3-6, 7-6 (5) today and will face Rafael Nadal in the final for the fourth time in six years.

Five-time champion Nadal, who is one victory away from equaling Bjorn Borg’s record of six French Open titles, defeated Andy Murray 6-4, 7-5, 6-4 earlier on Court Philippe Chatrier to improve his record at Roland Garros to 44-1.

On Sunday, Nadal will try to beat Federer for the sixth time in eight Grand Slam finals.

In the women’s final, defending champion Francesca Schiavone will face Li Na on Saturday.

Djokovic entered the French Open as the hottest man on tour. He won every tournament he had played in 2011, including earning his second Grand Slam title at the Australian Open after beating Federer in their second straight major semifinal.

But for Federer, three times in a row was too many. The third-seeded Swiss had an answer to just about everything Djokovic could muster, sending back shot after shot and waiting for his opponent to make the mistakes even though Federer finished with 46 unforced errors, five more than Djokovic.

The two traded a pair of breaks in the first set, and Djokovic then led 5-4 in the tiebreaker when three unforced errors a backhand and two forehands gave Federer the set.