French Open
In addition to closing in on an unfathomable 13th French Open championship with a 63, 6-3, 7-6 (0) win over 12thseeded Diego Schwartzman, Nadal now gets a chance to tie Roger Federer for the men’s record of 20 Slam titles.
Nadal said it’s fine for others to discuss such matters, but his focus remains squarely on the task at hand.
“I’m playing the most important tournament of the year — that’s what motivates me,” he insisted.
While Nadal dealt with the slightest tension late in his third set Friday, everything became more interesting at that juncture for Djokovic against Tsitsipas, a 22-year-old from Greece in his second major semifinal.
Djokovic served for the win at 5-4, holding that match point at 40-30. He would require another 1 hour, 45 minutes to finish the job.
That one misstep left the door a bit ajar, and Tsitsipas barged through. He got his first break all match when Djokovic sent a forehand long, making it 5-all. Tsitsipas broke again to steal that set when Djokovic netted a forehand, then got things to a fifth.
What changed? Tsitsipas began pushing forward more, taking the action to Djokovic,
whose misses began to increase with less time to properly calibrate.
Also notable: the massive swing in success on break points.
Djokovic started by converting 4 of 5, then went through a stretch where he was 1 for 13.
Tsitsipas, in contrast, began 0 for 10, then went 4 for 5.
After the fourth set, Djokovic changed socks and shoes, and Tsitsipas got a medical visit for a check of his left leg.
“I believe my body was not ready,” Tsitsipas acknowledged afterward. “Physically, I wasn’t really there.”