We’ve been enjoying some majestic tennis at Roland Garros this month and as we head into the business end of the tournament there are sure to be some more epic encounters in Paris to decide who will be crowned champions in the year’s second grand slam.

While unfortunately no Aussies made it past the third round, there have still been a few feel good stories for us to cheer about. In the men’s side of the draw Tommy Haas at the ripe age of 35 has won through to the quarter-finals, where he will face Novak Djokovic. The German has been playing some of the best tennis of his career but will need to pull out all the stocks if he’s to get past the world number one.

In the other remaining quarter-final clay court champion Rafael Nadal will come up against Stanislas Wawrinka as he continues his bid for a record eighth French Open title. Already through to the semis are David Ferrer, who defeated Spanish compatriot Tommy Robredo and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga who upset Swiss maestro Roger Federer in straight sets.

In the women’s draw, defending champion Maria Sharapova is set to come up against Jelena Jankovic, who outed Aussie hope Sam Stosur. While third seed Victoria Azarenka will come up against Russian Maria Kirilenko in the fourth quarter-final.

World number one Serena Williams will play last year’s beaten finalist Sara Errani in the semis, after she was pushed to three tough sets by unseeded Svetlana Kuznetsova. It’s only the second time Williams has made the final four since she won the title back in 2002, as she looks to continue her career best winning streak which now stands at 29 matches.

There have been many other highlights throughout the tournament, with Rafael Nadal being presented with a huge birthday cake on centre court and Mikhail Youzhny going berserk on his racquet during his exit from the tournament.

Aussie young guns Ashleigh Barty and Nick Kyrgios showed us there is hope for the future, having their maiden victories at the French Open and of course there is not long to wait until Wimbledon, where hopefully our local contingent will have a much better showing.

We’ll be screening all the remaining big matches of this year’s French Open, so if you’ve been loving the clay court action make sure you get down to Strathfield Sports Club where we’ll be serving up some terrific tennis!

Damien Bellemore