More than two and a half hours after Novak Djokovic defeated Alexander Zverev in the French Open quarterfinal, a crucial moment arrived. Djokovic had a lead in the fourth set, but Zverev had a chance to reclaim the match.
The longest of a buggy and breezy Wednesday night exchange, in which Djokovic won with a forehand winner, ended the pair’s 41-stroke encounter. After that, he remained put, breathing heavily, and holding his hips as he listened to the ovation from the throngs of Court Philippe-Chatrier spectators.
Djokovic may be 38 at the time. This season, he might have fallen to sixth place in the rankings after going through two three-game losing streaks. Djokovic is now two wins away from winning his 25th Grand Slam record, but neither his resolve or ability to perform at his best on big stages have changed.
Third seed Zverev, who is a decade younger and was last year’s runner-up at Roland-Garros, won 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to set up a semifinal showdown with top-seeded Jannik Sinner.
Sinner defeated Alexander Bublik 6-1, 7-5, and 6-0 earlier on Wednesday, continuing his dominating run through the bracket. Through five matches, Sinner has conceded a total of only 36 games, not including a set that he hasn’t dropped so far.
So Friday will see a tantalizing showdown between Sinner, a player that many consider to be the best player in tennis history, and Djokovic, a player who is currently at the top of the men’s game. In their previous three head-to-head matches, Sinner and Jokovic are tied at 4-4, but Sinner has won each other.
No one has spent more weeks ranking first than Djokovic. No one has ever won more major championships or advanced to the semi-finals than his total, which is now 51 after surpassing the second-old man’s total in Paris.
The 23-year-old Sinner has won three Grand Slam titles. His unbeaten streak at majors now includes 19 matches, including the US Open from last year and the Australian Open from this year. Additionally, he has won those 26 sets in a row.
Source: Aljazeera
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