Federer, Nadal Set for Next Stage

PARIS â€”  The photo op was staged. That’s why it’s called a photo op, of course.

But Rafael Nadal of Spain, who turns 19 today, usually manages to give a little extra. Dozens of photographers were perched in various positions Thursday at the French Open, aiming their cameras up at Nadal, who was on a walkway outside the players’ lounge.

He was eating ice cream, playing around with it, and waiting for Roger Federer. Federer showed and they posed together, chatting amiably. Federer, who speaks English, French and Swiss German fluently, was asked if he’d spoken Spanish to Nadal.

“My Spanish is still average,� Federer said, smiling.

Always polite, he made sure to say goodbye to Nadal. They smacked hands and Federer said, “See you tomorrow.�

“Tomorrow� would be the big event. All this was merely the prelude.

The top-seeded Federer and No. 4 Nadal will meet today in the French Open men’s semifinals, a marquee showdown that has been anticipated since the draw came out. Oh, and in the opening semifinal, No. 12 Nikolay Davydenko of Russia will face unseeded Mariano Puerta of Argentina.

Nadal, playing in his first French Open, is on a 22-match winning streak, and Federer is on a modest one as well, having won 11. Federer, who had never gone past the quarterfinals in six previous trips here, has not lost a set.

The only player to have taken a set from Nadal here is Sebastien Grosjean of France in the fourth round, using a sizable assist from the crowd.

Federer and Nadal have played twice. Nadal won their first meeting, in 2004 at Miami, in straight sets. Their most recent match, again in Miami, was exceptional. Federer won in five sets, after Nadal had been two points away from a straight-set win, leading, 5-3, in the third-set tiebreaker.

In 48 matches this year, only two players have defeated Federer: Richard Gasquet on clay in Monte Carlo and Marat Safin in the Australian Open semifinals -- on Safin’s 25th birthday, perhaps a cautionary note to Federer today.

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Sam Querrey of Thousand Oaks made the most of his first junior French Open, lasting longer than any other American. Lukas Lacko of Slovakia defeated Querrey, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 6-3, in 1 hour 46 minutes in the quarterfinals Thursday.

“I really wasn’t serving my best the entire match,� said Querrey, who had eight aces, five double faults and 60 unforced errors. “He was dictating a lot of the points. I was getting frustrated with my serve.�

Awaiting him at home will be final exams. He is finishing his junior year at Thousand Oaks High. After that, he will play a junior tournament at Roehampton, England, and then the junior Wimbledon event.

Querrey said this was the first time he had been out of the country for a tournament, other than a short trip to Mexico.

This summer will be an important one for Querrey. As winner of the Easter Bowl, he will receive a wild-card entry into either the qualifying or main draw in the Mercedes-Benz tournament at UCLA in July.