By Pritha Sarkar

PARIS (Reuters) - With a reputation of being the practical joker on tour, Novak Djokovic will be hoping he has the last laugh when he faces three-times champion Rafael Nadal in the French Open semi-finals on Friday.

Ranked second and third in the world, Nadal and Djokovic had expected to run into each other but in the other semi-final, world number one Roger Federer will be facing an unexpected adversary in the shape of 59th-ranked Frenchman Gael Monfils.

Like a runaway bulldozer, Nadal has flattened anyone and anything that has got in his way at Roland Garros this year. He has made no allowances for reputations as he extended his perfect record at the claycourt major to 26-0.

Such has been his dominance on the slow red clay, he has been raking up records almost every time he steps on court.

Fellow clay-loving Spaniard Nicolas Almagro was supposed to have provided Nadal with a decent test of his credentials in their last-eight showdown.

Instead, Nadal reacted by pulverizing Almagro 6-1 6-1 6-1, thus winning the most lopsided men's quarter-final at Roland Garros in the 40-year history of professional tennis.

If that was not enough, Nadal has dropped only 25 games en route -- the fewest number dropped by a man reaching the semi-final of a grand slam.

But he was not about to become complacent.

"If I'm not playing at 100 percent it's going to be very difficult for me to win this match (against Djokovic), so I need to play at 100 percent," said Nadal, whose number two ranking will also be on the line.

LIGHT RELIEF

The warning signs are loud and clear for Djokovic.

"He's been playing better and better. He's improved the serve a lot this year, on clay especially, and he's going for some shots much more. It's impressive," said the Australian Open champion, whose last two runs in Paris were stalled by Nadal.

"But I don't want to go out there in semis and just try my best. I don't want to do that. I want to win."

Djokovic has provided much light relief over the past two years by impersonating his fellow professionals on court but during his stay in Paris, his focus has been on getting his hands on the Musketeers' Cup.

"Of course, he's a favorite, and all the credit to that. But only with a positive attitude and approach in the match I can get the positive outcome," said Djokovic, whose claycourt record against the Spaniard stands at 0-4.

The last-four line-up in Paris has an air of familiarity about it. As at the Australian Open in January, the top three seeds and a Frenchman make up the fab four.

While Jo-Wilfried Tsonga lit up Melbourne with his surprise run to the final, Monfil has taken over the baton in Paris.

To the delight of the passionate home fans, and on the 25th anniversary of Yannick Noah's triumph here, the gangly Monfils has at long last reached his first grand slam semi-final.

Touted as a future champion since winning three of the four junior slam titles in 2004, it has been a long and winding road for Monfils as before this month, he had progressed to the fourth round of a major just once.

But after knocking out two seeds this week, he remained undaunted about his chances of narrowing a 0-3 record against the Swiss master and is gunning to become the first local player to reach the final since Henri Leconte in 1988.

"It's going to be a big match, probably the most important match in my career so far, but it's not the Game 7 yet. I've been practicing for years for this moment, so I don't want to miss it," said the 21-year-old.

If ever there was a year to catch out the 12-times grand slam champion, then 2008 might be it.

Federer arrived at Roland Garros with one title this season, his lowest count since 2001. Despite his poor run of form, no one has been able to stop him from reaching his 16th successive major semi.

"I have been in so many semis of grand slam in a row. This is usually where I hope to play my best. This year I'm aiming for the title so I hope it's not going to stop here," he said.

(Editing by Miles Evans)