Djokovic daunted by semi-final showdown

The 20-year-old was the model of consistency as he claimed a 6-3 6-3 6-3 victory over the unseeded Russian in just two hours and 12 minutes to claim his first grand-slam semi-final appearance - and he knows he will be up against it when he plays the Spanish king of the dirt.

"I still don't see myself as a grand-slam winner," said the Serb, whose only win against Nadal in four attempts came on the hard courts of Miami earlier this year. "He (Nadal) is the best player in the world on this surface, and everybody knows that."

He added: "He's really dominant and hasn't lost at the French Open for three years. He plays with a lot of confidence, and physically he's ready and is probably the most prepared player on the tour. On clay, you have to do much more to earn a point against him."

Andreev was the architect of his own downfall and often looked mystified at the amount of mistakes he was making. He was broken in his first service game of each set, and four times in all.

It is another success story for Serbia at this year's Roland Garros, with Jelena Jankovic and Ana Ivanovic having made it through to the last four in the women's singles.

"It is phenomenal for such a small country, especially as there is no tennis tradition," said Djokovic.

"We've been through a lot of difficulties and problems as a country in the last 15 to 20 years, so now it is something positive going on."

Andreev admitted he was beaten by the better man, and was impressed by the standard of Djokovic's play.

"He's defending well, he's serving well on important points, he's returning well," the Russian said. "Mentally he's so strong for the age he is."