Djokovic manages to overcome injury to make semis
PARIS: World No 1 Novak Djokovic battled from a set down to prevail 46, 62, 63, 64 against Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta at the French Open yesterday to enter his 38th grand slam semifinal.
It was the first time the 17time major winner had faced Carreno Busta since he was disqualified in their last meeting at the same stage of the US Open for accidentally hitting a ball at a line judge.
When asked if that incident was still a factor, Djokovic replied ‘‘zero percent. I’m over it.’’
Despite starting the match with tape on the back of his neck to help with an injury, Djokovic managed to prevail .
‘‘I definitely didn’t feel great coming into the court today. Few things happened in the warmup,’’ Djokovic said.
‘‘I had some neck issues and some shoulder issues. I’ll just say that. I don’t want to get really too much into it. I’m feeling OK. As the match progressed, the pain faded away.’’
He will now face Greek fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas after Tsitsipas dispatched Russian Andrey Rublev 75, 62, 63 to advance to his first Roland Garros semifinal.
‘‘I expect a really tough, tough match, tough challenge for both of us,’’ Djokovic responded when asked about his next match.
Djokovic described Tsitsipas as ‘‘a complete, allaround player,’’ before adding ‘‘he’s one of the hardestworking guys out there.’’
American Sofia Kenin and Czech Petra Kvitova will meet as the remaining ranked women in the semifinals after winning in the last eight.
Seventh seed Kvitova cru
ised through with a 63, 63 win over German Laura Siegemund, while Kenin, seeded fourth, beat compatriot
Danielle Collins 64, 46, 60 to book her first semifinal in the French major.
‘‘I’m super excited to be in the semifinals and to play her,’’ Kenin said.
Djokovic was 42 down in the first set and he fired a backhand long to fall another break behind at 54, which allowed Carreno Busta to secure the lead.
Djokovic claimed three straight games in the third set before overtaking Carreno Busta at 53 and the top seed moved ahead on serve.
The 33yearold Serb rallied to break for a 43 advantage in the fourth and at 54, Djokovic completed his redemption from his New York disqualification.
It was not the only rematch of the day.
Rublev won the previous meeting with Tsitsipas in the final of a Hamburg tournament in the leadup to the French Open, but this time Tsitsipas was in full control of the match.
Rublev missed the opportunity to serve out the first set at 54 when Tsitsipas broke back and then sprinted to catch a forehand pass at the net to open set points at 65 and snatch the lead.
Tsitsipas broke serve four more times to claim his place in the semifinals with a volley.
Kvitova wasted no time in building a 41 opening lead and claimed the first set with a forehand winner.
The twotime Wimbledon winner traded four consecutive breaks of serve with Siegemund in the second set but Kvitova rallied to prevail.
Kvitova will play her first French Open semifinal since 2012, which she lost to eventual winner Maria Sharapova. — DPA