Novak Djokovic came from behind to beat Alexander Zverev at the French Open, setting up a blockbuster semi-final clash with Jannik Sinner.
Djokovic, seeking a standalone record 25th Grand Slam singles title, lost the first set but wore down Zverev in a thrilling encounter to win 4-6 6-3 6-2 6-4 in Paris.
The 38-year-old Serb will face top seed Sinner on Friday after the Italian earlier eased to a straight-sets victory over Alexander Bublik.
Both Djokovic and Zverev have largely struggled for form since they met in the last four of the opening Grand Slam of the year, the Australian Open, in January.
Djokovic retired injured from that match with a hamstring injury, while Zverev struggled to rediscover his best form after being comprehensively beaten by Sinner in the Melbourne final.
Djokovic is seeking a record 25th Grand Slam singles title
However, both claimed clay-court tournament victories shortly before arriving in Paris, and took little time to exhibit their best tennis in Wednesday’s night session.
Zverev, seeded third, started fast to break Djokovic in the opening game of the match.
The German fended off a break point in a relentless rally at 4-3, before going on to take the opener.
Djokovic showed typical poise in the face of continued monstrous hitting from Zverev to break early in the second set, before saving a break point himself in the next game to consolidate for a 4-1 lead.
Despite thrilling exchanges continuing throughout, Zverev’s level dropped in the third set as Djokovic tormented his opponent with drop shots on his way to breaking twice to move ahead.
Alexander Zverev remains without a Grand Slam title
Zverev was broken once more in the opening game of the fourth set, but would mount a late rally midway through what turned out to be the final set.
Zverev forced a break point at 2-4 but an incredible 41-shot rally ended with a Djokovic passing shot.
To the German’s credit, he saved four match points as Djokovic attempted to serve out the match, but couldn’t force another break point of his own before the three-time French Open champion finally sealed victory in three hours and 20 minutes.
Relentless Sinner breezes past Bublik
Jannik Sinner continued his relentless pursuit of a maiden French Open title
A near-flawless Sinner continued his relentless pursuit of a maiden title at Roland-Garros with a typically efficient 6-1 7-5 6-0 win over Kazakh showman Bublik, who knocked out Jack Draper on Monday.
The win ensured Sinner became the first Italian man to make six Grand Slam semi-finals and extended his winning run at the majors to 19 matches after his triumphs at last year’s US Open and the Australian Open in January.
“I’m very happy with how I’ve arrived in the semi-finals. The semi-finals in Grand Slams are very special, I’m looking forward to it,” Sinner said.
“We’ve played each other a couple of times already, so we already knew what to expect a little bit. But, in other aspects, you never know how he is going to play,” Sinner said of his opponent.
“I feel like he deserved to be in this quarter-final. I tried to focus on my side of the court. I was trying to play as solid as possible because he can have some ups and downs, so I just needed to stay consistent throughout the whole match.”
Sinner, currently 17-1 this season, joins countryman Lorenzo Musetti in the last four.
It is the first time in the Open Era two Italian men have reached the semi-finals of the same Grand Slam even. In 1960, Nicola Pietrangeli and Orlando Sirola advanced to last four in Paris.
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