Super Schwartzman ends Thiem’s French quest

DOMINIC THIEM’S bid for French Open glory came to an end after an epic five-setter against Diego Schwartzman.

The Austrian, who won the US Open just 23 days ago, finally wilted in the deciding set in a match of real quality.

Schwartzman made it a double celebration for Argentina, following Nadia Podoroska’s shock win over another third seed, Elina Svitolina, by reaching his first Grand Slam semi-final.

After more than five hours of gripping drama, 5ft 7in Schwartzman felt 10ft tall as he wrapped up a 7-6 (1) 5-7 6-7 (6) 7-6 (5) 6-2 victory.

Schwartzman said: “Dominic is one of the best players right now in the world. He won the last Grand Slam, he is a two-time finalist here, and I have a lot of respect for him.”

After two gruelling sets were shared, the third, which featured eight breaks of serve, felt pivotal.

Schwartzman squandered a set point on a Thiem serve with a forehand which floated long and was promptly broken in the next, but then hit back to take it to a tie-break.

An outrageous drop shot from the baseline which flopped almost apologetically over the net brought up two set points for Thiem.

Battling Schwartzman saved both, but Thiem dispatched a third with an overhead to take the lead for the first time.

Schwartzman forged ahead in the fourth and had three set points on his own serve, only for Thiem to save the lot – including one with a scarcely believable forehand pass on the run – to take it to 5-5. However, Schwartzman took the subsequent tie-break, and the 28-yearold from Buenos Aires had more left in the tank in the decider.

Earlier, compatriot Podoroska made

French Open history with a shock defeat of third seed Elina Svitolina in their quarter-final clash.

The 23-year-old from Argentina mbecame the first qualifier to reach the women’s singles semi-finals. It has been a tournament full of upsets but Podoroska pulled off the biggest of the lot, stunning the Ukrainian world number five 6-2 6-4. Podoroska’s run – eight matches and counting including qualifying – is all the more remarkable given she had never won a Grand Slam match, and has never even claimed back-to-back wins on the WTA Tour.