• Ailing Djokovic rallies to win.
Novak Djokovic typically pounds his groundstrokes, not his own legs and left arm. But his laborious quarterfinal victory Wednesday over Pablo Carreño Busta of Spain was strange from the start.
Djokovic, the world No. 1 from Serbia, walked onto the red clay of Roland Garros wearing a large white anti-inflammatory patch on the back of his neck and proceeded to drift and wince his way through the opening set, missing first serves and passing shots by the bunch.
Would it be a tough day at the office? Or simply a tough hour at the office?
The next three sets produced a familiar answer, as Djokovic, a champion who is rarely as down and out as he might appear, worked his way into a much better place to win 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.
His victory in three hours and 10 minutes put him into his 10th French Open semifinal. He will face a younger man playing in his first: Stefanos Tsitsipas, the No. 5 seed.
Djokovic had neck problems recently during a twotournament swing in New York, where he withdrew from
doubles at the Western & Southern Open and considered withdrawal from the singles draw. On Wednesday, he declined to be specific about what was troubling him but repeatedly grabbed at his upper left arm, pounding it with a fist at one stage in the first set (and hitting his legs with his racket in frustration at another stage). He was treated on some changeovers, with a physiotherapist working on his triceps as if Djokovic were having radiating pain or stiffness.
“I had some neck issues and some shoulder issues; I'll just say that,” Djokovic said. “I
don't want to get really too much into it. Obviously I'm still in the tournament, so I don't want to reveal too much. I'm feeling OK. I think as the match progressed, I warmed up my body, and the pain kind of faded away.”
In Friday's first semifinal, Rafael Nadal of Spain, the 12time French Open champion, will face Diego Schwartzman of Argentina, another player making his first appearance in the final four at Roland Garros. A Nadal-Djokovic final is tantalizingly close. Nadal is aiming to win his 20th Grand Slam singles title and match
Roger Federer's men's record. Djokovic is trying to close the gap by winning his 18th.
But upsets are not out of the question. Schwartzman defeated Nadal for the first time on clay in the Italian Open last month, and the lowbouncing conditions in Paris this year give him a better chance of coping with Nadal's whipping forehand topspin.
Tsitsipas has been in sparkling form since rallying from two sets down to win his opening-round match against Jaume Munar.
Tsitsipas, 22, is one of the leaders of tennis' next generation, marketed by the men's tour as the “NextGen” in an attempt to build some new star power to prepare for the time when the sport's Big Three of Federer, 39, Djokovic, 33, and Nadal, 34, is no longer blocking everybody else's sun.