By Nick Georgandis

If two years ago, someone had told you that all Novak Djokovic had to do was beat Roger Federer and he'd pass Rafael Nadal for the No. 1 spot in the world, you'd probably wonder what in the hell they were talking about.

That Federer isn't even in the conversation for No. 1, other than as a potential spoiler, is still taking some getting used to. He entered the tournament closer to Andy Murray at fourth than Djokovic at second in terms of total points.

What does it take to put the 16-time Grand Slam winner on the back burner? A 41-0 start for Djokovic and a chance for Nadal to win his sixth career French Open, tying Bjorn Borg for the most in a career ever since Roland Garros opened its doors to non-members in 1925.

It might just be the active imagination of an old sportswriter who loved penning tales of grand upsets, or the fact that as a Houston Rockets fan, I always remember Rudy Tomjanovich bellowing "don't ever underestimate the heart of a champion."

But as much as Djokovic has dominated Federer of late, the semifinal might be more of a danger than the actual final to end the Serb's streak .

Although his slew of public appearances and wink-wink commercials might show Federer as a smiling, friendly pro, making that mistake is tantamount to beliving Michael Jordan wanted to be your friend just because he used to share a Big Mac with Larry Bird and play H-O-R-S-E with Daffy Duck.

Competitors compete, and winners never, ever get used to losing, something Federer has failed to avoid every time he's faced either Djokovic or Nadal this season.

Federer has lost three straight matches to Djokovic, but he's 13-9 overall against the Serb and 2-1 against him on clay.

It's well-documented that clay isn't his best surface, but that might make him even more fired up for this match. Mastering the clay-court major was Federer's white whale until 2009, when he finally conquered it to complete his career Grand Slam.

Plus, Federer likes records, and certainly isn't used to having them set against them. If Djokovic beats him, he'll tie John McEnroe's 27-year-old record for best start to a season.

Murray's chances of taking out Nadal seem a bit more of a longshot. The Scot is 4-10 all-time against the Spaniard, with his last victory coming in the Rogers Cup semifinals last summer.

On clay courts, it's not even close. Nadal is 3-0 against Murray and has lost just one set.Oh, and there's the elephant in the room, that big match victories go with Murray like calm, rational discussions go with Charlie Sheen.

An ironic note is that Murray and Federer are both going to gain a bunch of points, even if they lose (as expected) to Djokovic and Nadal in the semifinals.

Federer was upset in the quarterfinals by Robin Soderling last year, so a semifinal loss in 2011 means he'll pick up 360 points. Murray was ousted in the fourth round a year ago, meaning he'll pick up at least 540.