PARIS -- Alex Corretja will have to put friendship aside when he takes on Albert Costa in the French Open semifinals.

The two Spaniards are inseparable off court, but Corretja insists none of that will matter when there is a place in the final at stake.

"I'm playing my closest friend on the tour and the situation won't be easy for either of us," said Corretja, who took just 11 minutes of Thursday morning to finish off Romanian Andrei Pavel 7-6 (5), 7-5, 7-5 in their rain-delayed quarterfinal.

"But we're both professionals. It's not like I'll be hoping he wins because he's my friend. If he wants to win he'll have to fight and so will I. We will both be trying 100 percent, I can promise you that."

Corretja and Costa are both big fans of Barcelona's soccer team, use the same fitness trainer and Corretja's wife, Marta, is also close to Costa's partner, Cristina. They are hardly strangers on the court either.

"We have met 12 times on the ATP tour, about one million times in practice and about another 1,000 times in Spanish tournaments," Corretja said. "We are together most of the day during tournaments and most of the day when we are at home. It's not like playing just any opponent, but you have to disregard the fact that you are playing a friend."

The 18th-seeded Corretja has the upper hand in their on-court rivalry, having won seven of their 12 matches on the men's tour. He has reached the final twice, including when he lost to Gustavo Kuerten last year, while 20th-seed Costa has never got beyond the quarterfinals of a Grand Slam tournament.

"Experience can be an advantage," Corretja said. "If the match is finely balanced that could make a difference."

Costa reached the semifinal stage by beating 15th-seeded Argentinian Guillermo Canas 7-5, 3-6, 6-7 (3), 6-4, 6-0 on Tuesday.