It has been the elephant in the room since the draw was made but now it's a reality: Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will meet here tomorrow for a place in the final of the French Open.

Djokovic, the world No.1, saw off the 35-year-old German Tommy Haas 6-3, 7-6, 7-5 while Nadal was ruthless in cutting down Stanislas Wawrinka, of Switzerland, 6-2, 6-3, 6-1 with his best performance of the tournament so far.

Andy Murray and Roger Federer may separate them in the rankings but there is no question that on clay – and perhaps on every other surface, too – Djokovic and Nadal are the top two players in the world.

It will be a repeat of last year's final, when Nadal won his seventh French Open title but, after 34 meetings, there is not much either man does not know about the other.

"I need to be, you know, willing to, and needing to, play on top of my game throughout the whole match, because that's what it's going to take to win against him," said Djokovic, who has reached 12 straight grand slam event semi-finals. "It's the small details and few points that can decide the winner. That's why I need to be very disciplined and focused in order to get emotionally, physically and mentally ready for that match."

With the exception of late in the third set when he served for the match at 5-4 and was broken, Djokovic served beautifully against Haas, whose outstanding run came to an end when the Serb made no mistake two games later.

The world No.1, who needs to win here to complete a full set of grand slam titles, said he would need to pick up as many free points against Nadal as possible.

Having won their last encounter, in the Monte Carlo final five weeks ago, Djokovic believes he knows how to get it done against the Spaniard. "I always thought I had a good game to play him because my style is to be aggressive, but I can also defend well and have that transition game," he said. "I need to serve well but, generally, I know what the game-plan is and I'm going to be confident and step into the court with the self- belief that I can win."

The problem for Djokovic is that so will Nadal, who after a poor first week is beginning to look more like the man who has lifted the trophy here seven times.

Wawrinka, whose brilliant comeback against Richard Gasquet in the previous round was arguably the best match of the fortnight, did not stand a chance as Nadal revelled in the warmest conditions here to date. "It was my best match in the tournament, without a doubt," said Nadal. "I said I needed to make a change. I was confident that I could do it and I did. If I was not happy five days ago about my level, today I can say I am happy that I am in semi-finals."

Nadal beat Djokovic three times on clay last year but knows that if he is to reach the final yet again, he will need to lift his game one more time. "I know he's going to play well, too, because he's the best today," he said. "I hope to play well, too."

While Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and David Ferrer also prepare for their semi-final tomorrow, Serena Williams and Maria Sharapova will today try to set up a showdown in Saturday's women's final.

Yesterday, Sharapova, the defending champion, survived a huge scare before beating an old foe in the Serb Jelena Jankovic 0-6, 6-4, 6-3 to reach the last four. It was the sixth time at Tour level that the Russian has lost the first set 6-0 but the first time she has recovered to win, an effort she was especially proud of.

"As tough as the match-up was, I was extremely happy with the way I pulled through," she said. "Sometimes you just have to get the job done, and I did today. No matter how many errors I made or how dis-appointed I was with the way I started the match, I knew I was capable of doing much better."

While world No.1 Williams will take on last year's runner-up, Sara Errani, Sharapova will play the third-seeded Belarussian Victoria Azarenka, who eased past Maria Kirilenko, of Russia, 7-6, 6-2.

Azarenka is in the semi-finals here for the first time and knows she will need to be at her best if she is to deny Sharapova a return to the final. "I think it's a matter of really applying your game and not allowing Maria to step up," she said. "She loves to hit the first two shots, to be aggressive and to make you run. It's definitely going to be a battle."

Scotland's Gordon Reid earned his first grand-slam event victory yesterday, beating the world No.9 Michael Jeremiasz, of France, 2-6, 6-4, 7-5 to reach the semi-finals of the men's wheelchair event. The British No.1 now plays either Stephane Houdet, the defending champion whom he beat on his way to winning in Rome recently, or Gustavo Fernandez for a place in the final.