Djokovic vs Nadal betting picks – 2021 French Open semi-finals

The second men’s semi-final at the 2021 French Open pits no.1 seed Novak Djokovic against no.3 seed Rafael Nadal. Djokovic comes into Friday’s matchup as the +208 with online bookmakers, whilst Rafael Nadal is a -277.78 favourite to get into yet another final at Roland Garros.

Both men come into the semis on the back of four-set encounters in the quarter-finals. Djokovic got the better of no.9 seed Matteo Berrettini, whilst Nadal, despite dropping his first set of the campaign, prevailed against Argentina’s Diego Schwartzman.

This will be the 58th meeting between these two giants of men’s tennis, with Djokovic leading by the barest of margins at 29-28 in the head-to-head ledger. The encounter is also a rematch of the 2020 French Open final, where Nadal prevailed in straight sets 6-0 6-2 7-5.

Rafa holds the key form having won seven of his last eight clashes with Djokovic on the Parisian clay. However, Novak was the last player to beat Nadal at Roland Garros, winning in straight sets when they met in the quarter-finals in 2015.

Djokovic vs Nadal predictions & best bets – French Open 2021 semi-finals

Correct score: Rafael Nadal 3-1

Despite Novak Djokovic being ranked no.1 in the world, Rafael Nadal is a completely different prospect on clay. Having not lost in his last 35 matches at Roland Garros, we expect Rafa’s 14th French Open semi-final to be another winner. Like his quarter-final against Diego Schwartzman, we expect Nadal to be pushed to four sets. Djokovic is one of the best defensive tennis players in the history of the sport, but he will need to be at his very best to beat the Spaniard. Nadal will reach the French Open final yet again and take his all-time record at Roland Garros to 106-2.