Djokovic v. Berdych; Tsonga v. Monfils in Bangkok Saturday

The first singles semifinal on Centre Court, which begins at 1:00pm, is an all-French affair between No. 4 seed Gael Monfils and No. 2 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. It is their first meeting at ATP-level, however they did meet five years ago at a Futures event in France, where Tsonga prevailed in straight sets.

Monfils, 22, is through to his third ATP semifinal this season and is looking to reach his sixth ATP singles final (1-4 record; 0-2 on hard court), having fallen at the semifinal stage at Roland Garros (l. to Federer) and Nottingham (l. to Karlovic). His lone ATP title came on clay at 2005 Sopot (d. Mayer) and he is bidding to reach his first final since May 2007 on clay at Poertschach (l. to Monaco). The 6’4’’ right-hander is currently No. 26 in the ATP 2008 Race and could move into the Top 20 and improve his Tennis Masters Cup chances by clinching the title this week. His semifinal effort at Roland Garros marked a turning point in the season for the Paris native, who had compiled a 5-7 record going into the second Grand Slam of the year. Since then, together with his Nottingham success, the former junior World No. 1 has also reached the quarterfinals at the Beijing Olympics (l. to Djokovic) and made a fourth round exit at the US Open (l. to Fish). The 30th-ranked Monfils is making his debut in Bangkok and has a 2-0 record against his compatriots this season.

Tsonga, 23, is looking to reach his second ATP singles final after making his maiden appearance at the Australian Open in January, where he defeated Rafael Nadal in the semifinals before finishing runner-up to Djokovic. It is the fourth semifinal appearance for Tsonga this season, having lost at Adelaide (l. to Nieminen) and been forced to withdraw prior to the clash with Gilles Simon in Casablanca with a knee injury, which required surgery and kept him off the ATP circuit until the US Open, where he made his return with a third round exit (l. to Robredo). Currently No. 18 in the ATP 2008 Race standings, the La Rippe, Switzerland native is in contention to qualify for a Tennis Masters Cup berth for the first time. The right-hander is 94 points behind James Blake at No. 8, and can collect up to 35 Race points this week with the title win. The 20th ranked Tsonga has a 3-2 record against his compatriots in completed matches this season.

The second singles semifinal follows on Centre Court and sees Serbian top seed Novak Djokovic challenge third-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych in a first-time meeting.

Djokovic, 21, is in the hunt for his fourth ATP title of the season and his first since May. He is bidding to reach his 16th ATP singles final (10-5 record; 7-3 on hard court). The World No. 3 has a 57-13 season record, highlighted by winning his maiden Grand Slam title at the Australian Open (d. Tsonga), and two ATP Masters Series shields at Indian Wells (d. Fish) and Rome (d. Wawrinka). He was a finalist at Queen’s and AMS Cincinnati (l. to Nadal at both), and reached the semifinals at six other events, including Roland Garros (l. to Nadal) and the US Open (l. to Federer). The right-hander also won the bronze medal at the Beijing Olympics (d. Blake). Last week, he helped Serbia back into the 2009 Davis Cup World Group with a win against Slovakian Dominik Hrbaty. He has already qualified for Tennis Masters Cup Shanghai for the second straight year, along with Rafael Nadal, Roger Federer and Andy Murray. He has a 9-2 record against Czech players.

Berdych, who celebrated his 23rd birthday last Wednesday, is through to the Bangkok semifinals for the second straight year and is looking to reach the final for the first time after losing to Benjamin Becker in the last four on his event debut last year. The top Czech has a 27-18 season record, highlighted by a run to his seventh ATP final (3-4 record; 0-1 on hard court) in July at Bastad (l. to Robredo). His last ATP title came at Halle last year (d. Baghdatis). He has also made a semifinal exit at the Sony Ericsson Open in Miami (l. to Nadal) and reached the Sydney quarterfinals (l. to Guccione). He is making his first appearance on the ATP circuit since a first round upset against Sam Querrey at the US Open. The 6’5’’ right-hander was ranked within the Top 10 for 11 weeks earlier this season but is currently No. 27. (ATP Digital Services)