Djokovic falls in French quarterfinals

It was difficult to discern which was less likely: that 12-time major champion Novak Djokovic would falter in his French Open quarterfinal or that Marco Cecchinato, who never won a Grand Slam match until last week and once faced a possible ban for losing on purpose, would rise to the occasion. Either way, Tuesday’s outcome was stunning for both men. Djokovic, bothered by neck and leg problems, went from two sets down to the verge of forcing a fifth, but he frittered away good chances and lost to 72nd-ranked Cecchinato 6-3, 7-6 (4), 1-6, 7-6 (11).

“A hard one to swallow,” Djokovic acknowledged during a brief news conference in which he said he might not play in the upcoming grass-court season. Cecchinato is the lowest-ranked French Open semifinalist in 19 years and the first Italian man to make it that far at any major in 40 years. “The best moment of my life,” he said.

He was suspended for 18 months and fined about $45,000 by his national federation in 2016 for allegedly fixing a match in Morocco. He appealed and the Italian Olympic Committee later announced sanctions were dropped on a technicality.

On Friday Cecchinato, 25, will face No. 7 seed Dominic Thiem of Austria, who made his third consecutive French Open semifinal by beating No. 2 Alexander Zverev of Germany 6-4, 6-2, 6-1. In the women’s quarterfinals, No. 10 Sloane Stephens beat No. 14 Daria Kasatkina of Russia 6-3, 6-1, and No. 13 Madison Keys eliminated unseeded Yulia Putintseva of Kazakhstan 7-6 (5), 6-4. Stephens beat Keys in the U.S. Open final last September, and Thursday’s rematch will be the first all-American women’s semifinal at the French Open since Serena Williams defeated Jennifer Capriati in 2002.