Dabrowski advances to final in Paris
PARIS • Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski is off to the French Open mixed-doubles final for the second straight year.
Dabrowski and teammate Mate Pavic of Croatia downed Slovakia’s Katarina Srebotnik and Mexico’s Santiago Gonzalez 6-4, 6-4 in Tuesday’s mixed semifinals.
Dabrowski and Pavic, the top-seeded team, had six aces, compared to one for their opponents. They converted two of four break point opportunities and saved all three break points they faced as they rolled to victory in just over an hour.
Dabrowski and Pavic will face the winner of Wednesday’s semifinal between Germany’s AnnaLena Groenefeld and Colombia’s Robert Farah and the second-seeded team of Taiwan’s Latisha Chan and Croatia’s Ivan Dodig.
Dabrowski and Pavic won the Australian Open mixed title earlier this year.
Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic was stunned by 72ndranked Marco Cecchinato of Italy 6-3, 7-6 (4), 1-6, 7-6 (11).
“He held his nerves amazingly well in important moments,” said Djokovic, who added he isn’t certain whether he will play at Wimbledon.
Cecchinato is the lowestranked man to get to the semifinals in Paris in 19 years. Told in an on-court interview he wasn’t dreaming, Cecchinato responded: “Are you sure?”
The 25-year-old was suspended for 18 months and fined about US$45,000 by his national federation in July 2016, accused of losing on purpose at a lower-tier Challenger event in Morocco a year earlier.
Eventually, the Italian Olympic Committee announced sanctions were dropped on a technicality.
Next up: No. 7 seed Dominic Thiem, who made it to his third consecutive French Open semifinal by beating No. 2 Alexander Zverev 6-4, 6-2, 6-1.
In the women’s quarterfinals, No. 10 Sloane Stephens beat No. 14 Daria Kasatkina 6-3, 6-1, while No. 13 Madison Keys eliminated unseeded Yulia Putintseva 7-6 (5), 6-4.
HE HELD HIS NERVES AMAZINGLY WELL IN IMPORTANT MOMENTS