Cecchinato’s upset win ‘unbelievable’
PARIS: Marco Cecchinato became the first Italian man to reach a grand slam semifinal in 40 years after defeating former champion Novak Djokovic at the French Open yesterday.
Unseeded Cecchinato won the fourth set after a marathon tiebreak to knock former champion Novak Djokovic out of Roland Garros. The world No 72 prevailed 63, 76 (74), 16, 76 (1311) in three hours and 26 minutes.
The previous Italian man to reach the French Open semifinals was Corrado Barazzutti in 1978.
‘‘Maybe I’m sleeping. I don’t understand nothing . . . it’s unbelievable for me,’’ Cecchinato said.
‘‘For me, to beat Djokovic in a quarterfinal at Roland Garros . . . it’s amazing.’’
The Serb, threetimes a Wimbledon champion, appeared distraught after his defeat during which he was treated for neck pain.
Clearly still wound up after his defeat, Djokovic gave one or twoword answers to several questions and cast doubt over his participation in the grasscourt season.
‘‘I don’t know if I’m going to play on grass,’’ Djokovic, who won the last of his 12 grand slam titles in Paris two years ago, told reporters crowded into a small interview room after he declined the opportunity to use a much larger one.
Up next for Cecchinato is seventh seed Dominic Thiem who completed a comfortable 64, 62, 61 victory over an ailing No 2 seed Alexander Zverev and moved into the semifinals at Roland Garros for the third straight year.
Zverev, who sported heavy strapping on his left thigh after the second set, struggled to move on court. Although the German found his range with some big baseline winners, Thiem held firm to advance.
‘‘It was tough for him today; he’s one of the fittest guys on tour,’’ the Austrian said.
‘‘It’s tough to play three fivesetters in a row. I hope that we have many more encounters against each other at this stage or even later in a grand slam.’’
In the women’s draw, US Open champion Sloane Stephens powered past Russian Daria Kasatkina to win the match 63, 61 and set up a semifinal match against fellow American Madison Keys.
The duo contested the title at Flushing Meadows last year, a match that Stephens won for her first grand slam victory.
‘‘It’s great for American tennis and I’m really excited to play my really good friend,’’ Stephens said.
Keys closed out the second set in style to seal a 76 (75), 64 victory over Yulia Putintseva, of Kazakhstan, and move into the French Open semifinals for the first time in her career.
‘‘I definitely needed you guys today, you helped me get through,’’ Keys told the crowd on Court Suzanne Lenglen.
‘‘I’m very happy to win in straight sets.’’