Tennis

So Thiem v Nadal and Murray v Wawrinka is the line-up for the French Open men's semis.

My money is on a Nadal v Wawrinka final. I would love to see Thiem go through. From the first time I saw him, a couple of yrs back at Wimbledon, I knew he was going to be a good 'un, and at only 23, hopefully he will be around for many more yrs. Nadal is in great shape though and looks unstoppable. Wawrinka is looking strong too and Murray will have to get off to a good start and not spend too much energy on the muttering if he wants to get to the final.

That is all for tomorrow though and today we have the women's semis.  Halep is looking strong, and did a brilliant Houdini act yesterday, winning from having been a set and 1-5 down. Ostapenko has had a great tournament, but her relative inexperience may start to count now.  Pliskova is the highest seed left, I think, and I wouldn't bet against her holding the trophy on Saturday.

Must say the coverage over the fortnight has been absolutely first class. 47b20s0

What is heavens name is up with Djokovic. He tanked that last set...That is not to take a great win from Dominic Thiem

DOH!!!, I didn't know it was on Freeview.
Thanks Jazzle.

I don't mind him. Courier can be a bit snappy with the other commentators, which I'm not keen on.

What a talent Ostapenko is going to be. She makes a lot of errors at the moment, but some of her shots are utterly inspired. Good for her, getting through to her first final, though I fear beating either Halep or Pliskova on Saturday will be a big ask. We will see.

Halep v Pliskova was great too. Such a shame the stands seemed half empty.

Women's final between Ostapenko and Halep starts on ITV in 15 mins, for anyone interested.

It was won by the fearlessness of youth. I hope Halep goes on to win a Slam. She just didn't have quite enough belief today, and it is always hard to play against a youngster who mixes winners and unforced errors so freely, as you never get a rhythm going.

I hope Ostapenko goes on to achieve a lot in the game. She reminded me of Sharapova in her first Wimbledon final. Sometimes the second Slam is the hardest to win, as Maria found. Still, all that is for the future. Today she can just enjoy that winning feeling.