Paris: World number one Novak Djokovic on Thursday suffered a massive scare but battled back from a set down to beat Pablo Carreno Busta in the quarterfinals of the French Open 2020 at Roland Garros.
Djokovic prevailed in a 4-set thriller against 15th-ranked Spaniard 4-6 6-2 6-3 6-4 at centre court to set up a semi-final showdown against Greek fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas.
This was Djokovic’s 36th win of the year, with his only loss coming against the same opponent at the US Open in round 4 when the Serbian defaulted for accidentally hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball after a game and was disqualified from the match.
But there was no such drama or controversy on Thursday as Djokovic remained on course for a second championship in Paris and 18th Grand Slam title overall. He certainly seems to have moved past that episode, winning all 10 matches he’s played since.
He wore a bandage on his neck Wednesday and had problems with his left arm that seemed to ease after he was massaged by a trainer during changeovers.
Djokovic looked flat and had to save break points early in the second set before raising his game to level the match.
It looked plain sailing when he led 3-0 in the third set before a dip allowed Carreno Busta back but Djokovic saved a break point at 3-3 before pulling away.
Djokovic, bidding for a second French Open crown, produced several loud roars as he tried to fire himself up.
Meanwhile, Dominic Thiem admitted he had nothing more left to give, as his Grand Slam winning streak was ended by Diego Schwartzman in an epic five-setter in the French Open quarter finals on Tuesday.
Schwartzman, the 12th seed, prevailed 7-6 (7-1), 5-7, 6-7 (6-8), 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 to set up a meeting with Rafael Nadal.
I was over the limit today, Austrian third seed Thiem, who had already come through a draining five-set encounter to knock out Hugo Gaston in the previous round, told a news conference.
In the end I gave all I had. It was an amazing match. I think the first in my career over five hours. Diego fully deserves it.
Thiem put on a smile after match point, despite missing out on a fifth consecutive semi-final appearance at the French Open.