When Djokovic then got to match point, Thiem hit a backhand wide.
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And as she so often does, Williams came through when she needed to, moving closer to a record-equaling 22nd Grand Slam title by figuring out a way to beat Yulia Putintseva 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 on Thursday.
How close was Williams to her earliest exit at a major since Wimbledon in 2014?
Djokovic then went back on the offensive, breaking Thiem again in the seventh game for 4-3 and giving the young Austrian no quarter when he tried to outfox the Serb with a lob.
“Wawrinka’s opening salvo was ferocious and yet crucially it was Murray who had the break of serve by the first change of ends”.
The world number 58, conqueror of Australian Open champion Angelique Kerber in the first round, has now won 11 straight matches after arriving in Paris fresh from lifting the Nuremberg clay-court title as a qualifier. In the victory, Djokovic won 71 percent of his first serve points and 66 percent of his second serve points. The 22-year-old would get the first hold of the set, by consolidating his break for a 3-1 lead.
For Djokovic, it will be his fourth consecutive day on court.
A swinging second set saw Thiem edge a competitive tie-break, only to be broken right at the start of the third.
The Czech expressed his frustration when the players were briefly forced off due to rain at 3-3, telling supervisor Wayne McKewen: “This is an absolute circus”.
It was plain sailing for the world number one on the Suzanne Lenglen Court as he wrapped up a 6-2 6-1 6-4 victory over Dominic Thiem in just one hour 50 minutes on Friday afternoon.
That was Bertens’ fourth win over a seeded player in this tournament, including against No. 3 Angelique Kerber in the first round. After the first point of the tiebreaker in the second set, Goffin tossed his racket up in the air but failed to catch it, hitting himself in the face.
Djokovic, meanwhile, admitted he was “lucky” to still be on the court and continuing his bid to win the only grand slam missing from his collection.
They played in chilly, cloudy conditions and in front of a mostly empty Court Philippe Chatrier.
Thiem defeated Belgium’s David Goffin in a tough four-setter on Thursday. A couple of games later at 4-3, Goffin would break back with a return of serve and the set would be all square.
Top seeds Serena Williams and Novak Djokovic have both reached the semi-finals at the French Open.
Djokovic, who has played through rain in each of his last three matches, said there was only one way to draw a line under the issue – the French Open should follow the other three grand slams in getting a retractable roof over its main showcourt.
Novak Djokovic and Tomas Berdych have resumed their French Open quarterfinal after a brief rain delay.
Novak Djokovic survived a brush with possible disqualification before beating Tomas Berdych to reach the French Open semi-finals.
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Dominic Thiem of Austria in action against Marcel Granollers of Spain during their men’s single round of 16 match at the French Open tennis tournament at Roland Garros in Paris, France, 31 May 2016.
