DJOKOVIC FLOPS IN QUARTERFINALS
Defending champ loses in straight sets
Sports is filled with potential records to realize, and tennis is no exception to rolling out enticing scenarios. As French Open defending champion Novak Djokovic can attest, however, rewriting history is no easy task.
Djokovic appeared listless and without answers as he was drubbed by sixth seed Dominic Thiem 7-6 (7-5), 6-3, 6-0 in the French Open quarterfinals on a chilly Wednesday afternoon. In his entire tour-level career, Djokovic has lost only nine sets at love — three at the Grand Slam events. The last time it had happened was in 2016 in the Italian Open in Rome, where he rebounded to defeat Thomaz Bellucci of Brazil 0-6, 6-3, 6-2.
“It’s hard to comment on the third set,” Djokovic said. “Obviously, nothing was going my way and everything his way. All in all, it was decided I think in the first set. He deserved to win. He was definitely the better player on the court today.”
Gone are a number of recordsetting possibilities for Djokovic in Paris. Most notably, Djokovic was vying for the opportunity to become the first man in the Open era — and third in history — to win the four Grand Slam titles twice in his career.
They’re now forgotten options for Djokovic, at least for this year. He can come back and try again next year, but the wait could be crushing.
Djokovic, 30, was on a huge high when he arrived in Paris last year. He presented as the best in the business and nearly untouchable to opponents. He would get his first French Open win — his 12th major title overall — which meant he earned a non-calendar Grand Slam, having won all four majors in a row.
“The win here last year brought a lot of different emotions,” Djokovic said. “Obviously, it was a thrill and complete fulfillment. I have lived on that wave of excitement, I guess, till the (2016) U.S. Open. At the U.S. Open, I just was emotionally very flat and found myself in a situation that I hadn’t faced before in the professional tennis career.”
Sometimes big dreams realized — a first French Open trophy in this case — deliver a big letdown, and Djokovic finds himself still reeling in that doldrums 12 months later. The most perplexing part is that no matter what he tries, he can’t find the solution to why he remains out of sorts. His latest experiment was adding Andre Agassi to his coaching staff, but the American spent about eight days with him here in a trial run, and the partnership will be predicated on an occasional and not full-time arrangement.
“I obviously always expect a lot from myself, but it’s a fact that I am not playing close to my best, and I know that,” Djokovic said. “I’m trying, as is everyone else, to work on the game and work on things. Sometimes it works; sometimes it doesn’t.”
Djokovic came into the 2-hour, 15-minute quarterfinal holding a 5-0 record against Thiem. He had lost one set to the Austrian in the past. Last month, Djokovic punished Thiem 6-1, 6-0 in the semifinals in Rome.
But Thiem came through a tough first set Wednesday and just kept getting better. In the end, he posted 38 winners to 18 for Djokovic and had 28 unforced errors to 35 for the Serbian.
This marks the second consecutive year Thiem has reached the French Open semifinals. He fell to Djokovic in what was his first — and only other — Grand Slam semifinal appearance.
Thiem will test his skills against nine-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. He will hope for a better outcome than in last year’s semis but understands no one does clay better than the Spaniard.
Nadal moved into the semifinals with an abbreviated 6-2, 2-0 win against countryman Pablo Carreno Busta, who retired from the match with a left abdominal muscle strain.
In Friday’s other semifinal, Andy Murray will play Stan Wawrinka.
Thiem’s confidence boost in terms of playing Nadal is that he’s responsible for the Spaniard’s lone clay-court loss this season, having beaten him in the Rome quarterfinals. Nadal, however, has a 4-2 career edge and beat the Austrian on clay in this year’s Barcelona and Madrid finals in straight sets.
Nadal is 22-1 in clay-court matches this season, and Thiem is 22-4 on the surface.
“It’s great for me to be in the semifinals again,” Thiem said. “Of course, I think on Friday is coming the toughest opponent ever here in Roland Garros. (It’s) going to be the fourth match against him in, like, five or six weeks. No really big secrets.
“He’s again in his best shape. So going to be the toughest match that you can imagine.”
“I obviously always expect a lot from myself, but it’s a fact that I am not playing close to my best, and I know that.” Novak Djokovic