DJOKOVIC EXITS FRENCH OPEN
PARIS — Former world No. 1 Novak Djokovic was eliminated from the French Open quarterfinals on Tuesday after the 12-time major champion was edged in an epic fourth-set tiebreak by Italian Marco Cecchinato in Paris.
After four match points were saved by Djokovic, it took Cecchinato three hours and 26 minutes to prevail 6-3, 7-6 (7-4), 1-6, 7-6 (13-11) as his French Open fairytale continues.
Before arriving at Roland Garros, the 25-year-old had never won a Grand Slam singles match.
He now goes on to face Dominic Thiem in his first ever major semifinal after the seventh seed defeated an injured Alexander Zverev 6-4, 6-2, 6-1 in a merciless victory.
Djokovic, who won the event in 2016, called for medical aid on his shoulder after he lost the first set to Cecchinato, but even though the Serbian fought well to force a tie-break, the world No. 72 doubled his advantage with a defiant smash.
“I struggled from the beginning. Unfortunately,” Djokovic said. “It took me time to get well, and struggled with a little injury, as well, at the beginning. I couldn’t capitalize on the chances I had and some break points that I thought I had in there, but he came back and credit to him.”
Willingly determined, Djokovic rallied back in the third before facing another tiebreak in the fourth set.
The exchanges between the two, who were practice partners for the Monte Carlo event earlier in the year, were captivating.
A blind backhand volley kept Djokovic in the match as he was 6-5 down in a scintillating shootout.
Djokovic saved three more as he kept brushing the baseline with a fierce forehand.
However, a high looping backhand dropped in Cecchinato’s favor to complete a remarkable ascension into the French Open elite four.
Zverev, who came through a triple of five-set wins to enter his maiden Grand Slam quarterfinal, also required medical attention after conceding a 4-1 deficit to Thiem in the second set of their last eight contest.
“There was no way for me to win the match,” Zverev said. “I could barely move. I couldn’t serve. I couldn’t really do anything. But I still wanted to finish the match and kind of give the credit to Dominic. He deserves to be in the semifinals. You know, end on a loss and not on a retirement.”
The 21-year-old German had his left thigh taped up but never recovered as his Austrian opponent raced away with the victory.
“It’s never easy if your opponent obviously is not 100 per cent,” Thiem said. “But even for him it’s maybe even a little bit too tough to play three five-setters in the first rounds of a slam. I let him run. I was doing what I had to do, and so I’m satisfied.”
Zverev’s frustrations were clear in the second set as a wide backhand slice gifted Thiem an early break.
In previous rounds in which he bested Dusan Lajovic, Damir Dzumhur and Karen Khachanov in a dis-
tance fight, this was normally a sign of Zverev ramping up for another five-set thriller, but something was evidently wrong.
Clutching the back of his left leg after running to catch and return a lob from Thiem, Zverev showed his first sign of weakness, and his opponent, ranked at number 8 in the world, pounced on the opportunity to wear down his adversary.
“It doesn’t matter how your opponent feels or who is standing there. I just wanted to finish the match in a positive way for me,” Thiem said. “I know how to handle a Grand Slam now, to get that deep in such a tournament, and I think everything gets better with experience.”
Zverev had pulled off determined miracles in the French capital before, but this time he faced a mountain too big to climb as Thiem showed no mercy with a ruthless backhand to kill the match at one hour and 50 minutes.
In the women’s draw, American Madison Keys is through to the French Open semifinals as she advanced with a 7-6 (75), 6-4 triumph over Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva, and will now go on to face compatriot Sloane Stephens in the semifinals after the current U.S. Open champion dismissed Russia’s Daria Kastkina, 6-3, 6-1.