Djokovic in ‘new situation’ after quick loss

His French Open title defence nearing an end, Novak Djokovic stumbled and tumbled to his knees on the red clay, his racket flying from his right hand as his opponent’s backhand zipped past.

Even Djokovic found it hard to fathom how far he’s fallen, only a year removed from leaving Roland Garros as a player nonpareil, the first man in nearly a half-century to win four consecutive Grand Slam titles.

That he departed this time with a surprisingly lopsided 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-0 quarter-final loss to sixth-seeded Dominic Thiem on Wednesday left everyone, including Djokovic, pondering the answers to difficult questions.

“It’s a fact that I’m not playing close to my best, and I know that,” Djokovic said after his first straight-set loss at a major since the 2013 Wimbledon final. “For me, it’s a whole new situation that I’m facing.”

The 23-year-old Thiem next faces nine-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal, who advanced when No. 20 Pablo Carreno Busta stopped while trailing 6-2, 2-0 after injuring an abdominal muscle late in the first set.

“I mean, it’s a joke how tough it is to win a slam,” Thiem said. “Now I beat Novak. On Friday, (it’s) Nadal. In the finals, there is another top star.”

On the other half of the draw, 2015 champion Stan Wawrinka beat Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-3, 6-1, while Andy Murray downed Kei Nishikori 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (0), 6-1. In women’s matches, Simona Halep and Karolina Pliskova reached the semis. Halep downed Elina Svitolina 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-0. Pliskova beat Caroline Garcia 7-6 (3), 6-4.

Ottawa’s Gabriela Dabrowski and India’s Rohan Bopanna will play Germany’s Anna-Lena Groenefeld and Colombia’s Robert Farah in the mixed doubles final on Thursday. Dabrowski and Bopanna beat Sania Mirza and Ivan Dodig 6-3, 6-4 in the semifinal on Wednesday.