Blues skies and beaming sunshine greet day 13 of the French Open and women's finalists Sam Stosur and Francesca Schiavione are up early for a photoshoot with with the trophy they'll be vying for on Saturday
It's men's semi-finals day in Paris but before Robin Soderling and Tomas Berdych make their way on to Chatrier, Shingo Kunieda of Japan beats Sweden's Stefan Olsson 6-4 6-0 in the men's wheelchair singles final
The women's wheelchair singles final is an all-Dutch affair but Sharon Walraven (left) is no match for top seed Esther Vergeer, who lifts the title with a 6-0 6-0 thrashing of her compatriot
Time for the men's semis and first up it's Soderling (pictured) against Berdych. The pair have met eight times previously, with Sweden's Soderling holding a 5-3 head-to-head advantage over his Czech opponent
Berdych, seeded 15th, can name Andy Murray among his victims this fortnight but this is his maiden Grand Slam semi-final and there are signs of nerves as he double-faults on break point in game six of the opening set
Soderling, the 2009 runner-up, stunned world number one Roger Federer in the quarter-finals and the 25-year-old picks up where he left off against the Swiss, taking the opener off Berdych in 33 minutes
The heat soars to 28C and Soderling appears to be feeling it at the beginning of the second set - he makes a sluggish start and a double fault on break point in game four hands Berdych a 3-1 lead
Suddenly Soderling is all at sea and although Berdych squanders opportunities for the double-break, the 24-year-old keeps his eye on the ball to serve out the second set and level the match
Disappointingly, there are plenty of empty seats on Court Philippe Chatrier, but those in attendance see Berdych save two break points at 3-3 before breaking Soderling for a 6-5 lead and serving out the third set
Soderling is furious with himself - and his racquet - after falling behind in the match but responds positively and goes a break up when Berdych nets a backhand on break point in game six of the fourth set
The rest of the set goes with serve but it seems there might be a late twist when Berdych engineers a break-back point at 5-3 down. Soderling saves, however, and then serves out to take us to a fifth set
Meanwhile, there's more joy for Kunieda as he partners Stephane Houdet to victory over Olsson and Robin Ammerlaan in the men's wheelchair doubles final. Vergeer and Walraven win the women's event
After a prolonged lunch in scorching temperatures, the spectators finally begin to flow into Chatrier to catch the deciding set between Soderling and Berdych, who exchange breaks in the opening two games
Both players struggle for consistency but after Berdych breaks for 2-1, Soderling quickly hits back and then breaks twice late on to win 6-3 3-6 5-7 6-3 6-3 and reach his second successive French Open final
Also celebrating are sisters Serena and Venus Williams, who bounce back from their singles disappointment to beat Katarina Srebotnik and Kveta Peschke 6-2 6-3 in the women's doubles final
A day after his 24th birthday, world number two Rafael Nadal takes on Jurgen Melzer in the second men's semi-final. There could surely be no better gift for the Spaniard than a place in Sunday's final
Melzer is making his Grand Slam semi-final debut and the 22nd seed gets off to a solid start, until a double-fault in game six hands Nadal a break of serve and he storms through to take the first set
Nadal and Melzer exchange breaks at the start of the second set but a third successive break goes the Spaniard's way and before the enthralled crowd know it, the man from Majorca is two sets to the good
Both players have pockets of support inside Court Philippe Chatrier but it's Nadals fans who have most to cheer about as their man breaks in game one of the third to put himself on course for a straight sets win
The result appears a forgone conclusion as Nadal continues to dominate, but Melzer delights the crowd with a late charge and the volume rises further when - with Nadal serving for the match - the Austrian breaks back
Melzer forces a tie-break - and a thrilling one at that - but Nadal has just enough to edge it and leaps with joy on securing a place in his fifth French Open final
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