Top seed Novak Djokovic and seven-time champion Rafael Nadal were set on a French Open semi-final collision course Friday, condemning one of the sport's superstars to certain defeat before the final. The world number one Serb and the third-ranked Spaniard were placed in the same half of the draw, leaving Roger Federer, the second seed, to remain untroubled by either of his two great rivals until the final.

If you desire world domination in tennis, best get an early start as Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal have proved. So, for the likes of Grigor Dimitrov, Milos Raonic and Bernard Tomic -- often touted as the best of the next generation in men's tennis -- the clock is already ticking. Nadal was just 19 when he burst onto the scene with a first French Open title in 2005. Djokovic was 20 when he made his breakthrough at the 2008 Australian Open while Federer had his first of 17 Grand Slam titles wrapped up at Wimbledon in 2003 when he was 21.

Results from the fifth day of the ATP Nice Open tennis tournament on Thursday (x denotes seeding): Quarter-finals Albert Montanes (ESP) bt Paul-Henri Mathieu (FRA) 6-4, 6-1 Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA) bt Sam Querrey (USA x3) 3-6, 7-6 (7/2), 6-1 Gael Monfils (FRA) bt Robin Haase (NED) 6-2, 6-3 Pablo Andujar (ESP) bt Gilles Simon (FRA x2) 6-4, 7-5 afp

Results from the fourth day of the WTA Strasbourg Open on Thursday (x denotes seeding): Quarter-finals Eugenie Bouchard (CAN) bt Anna Tatishvili (GEO) 6-3, 6-2 Alize Cornet (FRA x3) bt Chanelle Scheepers (RSA x7) 6-3, 6-1 afp