Thiem stuns Djokovic, to face Nadal
PARIS: Dominic Thiem demolished defending champion Novak Djokovic in a stunning French Open upset on Wednesday, setting up a semi-final duel against nine-time champion Rafael Nadal.
Austrian sixth seed Thiem sent the world number two crashing to his earliest loss in Paris in seven years with a memorable 7-6 (7/5), 6-3, 6-0 triumph.
It also piled the pressure back onto the 12-time Grand Slam winner to prove that he is still a contender at the majors following a second-round exit at the Australian Open in January. “All the top players go through this. I will get through it and learn the lessons and figure out how to get out of it,” said 30-year-old Djokovic. “It’s a big challenge but I am up for it.”
The defeat was Djokovic’s first straight-sets loss at a major in four years and comes just 12 months after he completed the career Grand Slam in Paris. He then also held all four majors.
Wednesday saw him suffer a first 6-0 ‘bagel’ at a Slam since the 2005 US Open while the defeat will also see him slip out of the world’s top two for the first time in six years.
“It’s a dream to beat Novak for the first time and reach the semi-finals at Roland Garros again,” said Thiem, who was beaten by Djokovic in straight sets in the semi-finals in Paris in 2016. It was Thiem’s first win over the Serb in six meetings.
“It was tricky today, it was windy and cold. It was important to move well and hit clean.”
Thiem trails Nadal 4-2 in career meetings but remains the only man to beat the Spaniard on clay this year after winning in the Rome quarter-finals.
NADAL UP FOR 10TH
Nadal qualified for the semi-finals after compatriot Pablo Carreno Busta retired with injury while trailing 6-2, 2-0. Record nine-time champion Nadal broke Carreno Busta four times in the opening set, with the 20th seed forced to quit after just 51 minutes due to an abdominal problem. Carreno Busta was making his first quarter-final appearance at a Grand Slam. He received medical treatment after the first set but promptly retired after an anguished scream following an overhead.
Former champion Stan Wawrinka became the oldest French Open semi-finalist in 32 years on Wednesday when he brushed aside Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-3, 6-1. Swiss third seed Wawrinka, the 2015 title winner, has not lost a set on his way to a third successive semi-final in Paris. The 32-year-old is the oldest man to make the last four at Roland Garros since Jimmy Connors in 1985.
He will face world number one Andy Murray who beat Japanese eighth seed Kei Nishikori 2-6, 6-1, 7-6 (7/0), 6-1.