A crucial moment arrived more than two and a half hours into Novak Djokovic’s French Open quarterfinal victory over Alexander Zverev. It was the fourth set, and Djokovic led, but Zverev was in possession of a break point and a chance to get back into the match.
They engaged in a 41-stroke exchange, the longest of a buggy and breezy Wednesday night, and Djokovic came out on top, smacking a forehand winner. He stayed in place afterwards, breathing heavily, with hands on his hips, scanning the standing ovation from thousands of Court Philippe-Chatrier spectators.
Djokovic might be 38 now. He might have slogged through a pair of three-match losing skids this season and slid to sixth in the rankings. What has not changed is Djokovic’s determination or his ability to be his best on big stages — and now he is two wins from a record 25th Grand Slam title.
Djokovic proved too much for third seed Zverev, a man who’s a decade younger and was last year’s runner-up at Roland-Garros, winning 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to set up a semifinal showdown against top-seeded Jannik Sinner.
Earlier on Wednesday, Sinner continued his overpowering run through the bracket by dismissing Alexander Bublik 6-1, 7-5, 6-0. Sinner has not only not dropped a set so far, but he has ceded a total of only 36 games through five matches.
So Friday will bring a tantalising showdown between the player many consider the top player in tennis history, Djokovic, and the player who is at the top of the men’s game at the moment, Sinner. Djokovic and Sinner are tied 4-4 in their head-to-head series, but Sinner has won the last three matchups.
No one has spent more weeks at number one in the rankings than Djokovic. No one has won more major championships or reached more major semifinals than his total that now stands at 51 after becoming the second-oldest man to get that far in Paris.
Sinner, 23, is a three-time Grand Slam champion. That includes last year’s US Open and this year’s Australian Open, so his unbeaten streak at majors is now at 19 matches. He’s also won his last 26 sets at those events.
“He’s playing fast. He’s playing smart,” Bublik said. “He’s in another dimension with all the aspects of the game.”
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