The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Schwartzman outlasts Thiem after Podoroska sends third seed out
Dominic Thiem’s bid for French Open tennis glory came to an and after an epic five-setter against Diego Schwartzman.
The Austrian, who won the US Open just 23 days ago, finally wilted in the deciding set in a match of extraordinary quality.
Schwartzman made it a double celebration for Argentina, following Nadia Podoroska’s shock win over another third seed, Elina Svitolina, by reaching his first grand slam semi-final.
After more than five hours of gripping drama, 5ft 7in Schwartzman felt 10ft tall as he wrapped up a 7-6 (7-1) 5-7 6-7 (6-8) 7-6 (7-5) 6-2 victory.
Schwartzman said: “Dominic is one of the best players right now in the world.
“He won the last grand slam, he is a two-time finalist here, and I have a lot of respect for him.
“That’s why this match is very important for me. I played a few five-setters here and I never won.
“I think at the end this night I deserved to win.”
Podoroska made French Open history with a shock defeat of the third seed in their quarter-final clash.
The 23- year-old, playing at Roland Garros for the first time, became the first qualifier to reach the women’ s singles semi-finals.
It has been a tournament full of upsets but Podoroska pulled off the biggest of the lot, stunning the Ukrainian world number five 6-2
6-4.
Podoroska’s run in Paris – eight matches and counting including qualifying – is all the more remarkable given that she had never previously won a grand slam match, and has never even claimed backtowins on the WTA Tour.
Moreover the world number 131 had never played a top-20 player before, let alone beaten one.
But Podoroska looked right at home on her first appearance on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Podoroska said: “It’s a little bit difficult for me to speak . Thank you everybody for your support, I’m very happy.”
British doubles duo Jamie Murray and Neal Skupski have missed out on a place in the semifinals of the French Open.
The 13th seeds were beaten 6-4 6-4 by German pair Andreas Mies and KevinKrawietz, the defending champions.