Now a win in the quarter-finals over Tomas Berdych at the French Open would keep his bid for a career grand slam in tact.
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Like Murray, Wawrinka also needed five sets to get through his opener against Lukas Rosol, but has dropped just one set since.
The women’s semifinals were also decided on thursday.
However, there will be no Williams family reunion at Roland Garros this year after Timea Bacsinszky ambushed Serena’s elder sister Venus 6-2 6-4.
Berdych broke as the third set began but Djokovic immediately replied with his own, before the match was briefly suspended due to rain at 3-3.
“She played unbelievable. And I honestly didn’t think I was going to win that in the second set”, said Williams, who will face another unseeded opponent, 58th-ranked Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands, in the semifinals.
Williams eventually took the first set 7-6 on a tiebreak that she edged 9-7, settling into a more comfortable rhythm in the second set, which she won 6-4.
Thiem then worked his way to 15-40, only for Djokovic to save the first break point with a forehand victor. “An absolute circus. We’ve been playing two and half sets like that”.
Novak Djokovic’s French Open quarterfinal against Tomas Berdych is being delayed by rain.
Despite dropping jaws in the crowd with fine backhand winners and a few stunning forehands, Thiem was just too inexperienced as Djokovic blazed through the second set. Putintseva then served out that set at love when Williams flubbed a backhand.
“It’s going to be unbelievably tough”, said Thiem.
“Maybe Andy’s best chance to win the French ever could be this year”, said seven-times major victor McEnroe, who is working as a commentator in Paris.
French Open organisers, having been criticised for allegedly ensuring the players stayed on court in the rain, came under fire for sending them back to the dressing room on Thursday.
Unseeded Kiki Bertens has won the first set of her French Open quarterfinal against eighth-seeded Timea Bacsinszky, with both players struggling to hold serve in gloomy conditions on an nearly deserted Court Suzanne Lenglen. I’m sure he’s very motivated to show himself and others that he deserves to be at the top and compete for biggest titles. Djokovic has racked up 75 winners and 76 unforced errors in his last two matches.
Venus arrived for her match on Suzanne Lenglen Court looking more like a winter sport athlete than someone about to play a tennis match on June 1 – wearing leggings under her skirt and a long black quilted jacket zipped up to her neck.
“I played the best tennis of the tournament so far”.
Thiem will play Djokovic in the semifinal on Friday.
Paes and Hingis scored a 6-4, 6-3 win over fifth seeds Elena Vesnina and Bruno Soares, while Sania and Croatia’s Ivan Dodig beat the seventh seeded Yung-Jan Chan and Max Mirnyi 6-1, 3-6, 10-6.
Wawrinka and second-seed Murray contest the other men’s semifinal.
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Since Williams earned her fourth consecutive major championship at Wimbledon a year ago for No. 21 overall, she has been beaten in the semifinals of the U.S. Open by Roberta Vinci and in the final of the Australian Open by Kerber.
