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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Simon Burnton

French Open quarter-final: Marco Cecchinato stuns Novak Djokovic – as it happened

Novak Djokovic embraces Marco Cecchinato after his defeat to the Italian.
Novak Djokovic embraces Marco Cecchinato after his defeat to the Italian. Photograph: Eric Feferberg/AFP/Getty Images

And with that, I’m off. But for the disappointment of Zverev’s injury, it’s all been absolutely splendid. Here’s tomorrow’s order of play. Action on the show courts starts at 1pm BST/2pm local. Bye!

Philippe Chatrier

Garbine Muguruza (Esp, 2) v Maria Sharapova (Rus, 28)
Rafael Nadal (Esp, 1) v Diego Schwartzman (Arg, 11)

Suzanne Lenglen

Simona Halep (Rou, 1) v Angelique Kerber (Ger, 12)
Marin Cilic (Cro, 3) v Juan Martin del Potro (Arg, 6)

Updated

Djokovic, meanwhile, is - and this isn’t really news, but still - not just a great champion but an impeccable sportsman. He lost with great grace and dignity.

Cecchinato will play Dominic Thiem in the semi-final. Thiem had a straightforward match earlier today against an injured Alex Zverev and is surely not as tired as the Italian admits he currently is. Logic suggests that this is the year for Thiem to progress past the semi-finals here, and Cecchinato will have to fully recover both physically andalso mentally from the shock of beating Djokovic here.

I’m quite emotional about that myself. The first two sets, and the second half of the fourth ... that was just beautiful sport.

One of Cecchinato’s guys - I’ve no idea who they are - is in asolute pieces up in the players’ box. He’s sobbing like an infant. The player, meanwhile, has a quick on-court chat:

Maybe I’m sleeping. It’s amazing. It’s unbelievable for me. For me, to beat Djokovic in a quarter-final at Roland Garros it’s unbelievable. It’s amazing.

I play unbelievable match. I start very well on my serve. I don’t understand anything.

I was two breaks down on the tie break I was maybe two or three match points before the last one. And after in the fifth [set] I don’t know [what would have happened], I was so tired. But I won the match and it was amazing.

I am so tired. For me, it’s the first time semi-final Grand Slam, so I play one day yes and one day no. Now I need to think for the semi-final and I need some rest for recovery. I am very happy.

That was fantastic. Fantastic.

Italy’s Marco Cecchinato celebrates after victory.
Italy’s Marco Cecchinato celebrates after victory. Photograph: Christophe Archambault/AFP/Getty Images

Updated

Marco Cecchinato beats Novak Djokovic 6-3, 7-6, 1-6, 7-6

He’s done it! His backhand return down the line is high, it flies out of Djokovic’s reach, and it drops just inside the line!

Updated

Another unforced error from Djokovic, who hits a forehand just wide. Cecchinato has a fourth match point.

The first serve hits the net, and the second serve is too safe. Djokovic thunders it back at his ankles, and there’s no way back from there. 11-11.

He’s always in control of the next point, too - but his forehand clips the top of the net and bounces backwards! It’s another match point, and this one on Cecchinato’s serve!

Djokovic serves, and is always in control of the point. It’s 10-10.

Cecchinato’s forehand wrongfoots Djokovic and bounces away. A second match point!

This time he hits a brilliant return, Cecchinato can barely get the ball back into play, Djokovic runs forward to kill the point and take the set and ... skews it miles wide! He screams, apparently because someone in the crowd made a noise too soon. 9-9!

A brilliant forehand lands deep in the corner of the court. Djokovic has a third set point.

One thing Cecchinato does particularly brilliantly is, when he forces a limp shot, waiting until the last possible moment before deciding which way to hit it. Djokovic doesn’t know which way to run, so stays precisely where he is, and Cecchinato runs forward and volleys into the empty court. 8-8.

Djokovic hits a backhand so low and flat that Cecchinato can’t dig it out. 8-7, set point!

A rare humrum point. Djokovic, under little pressure, sends a backhand way long. 7-7.

Cecchinato hits a drop shot, and it looks for all the world like a winner. Djokovic, though, reaches it, and the backhand across court that follows it. He pumps his arms and screams. Set point!

Djokovic reacts after winning a point in the fourth
Djokovic reacts after winning a point in the fourth Photograph: Charles Platiau/Reuters

Updated

Djokovic saves it! It was another fabulous rally, which ends with the Serb coming to the net to finish it off and Cecchinato, at full stretch, hitting a forehand down the line that would have beaten most players. Not Djokovic, though: his lunging backhand volley sends the ball gently crosscourt for a winner!

Cecchinato hits a backhand so brilliant that it’s a wonder Djokovic can do anything other than stand and applaud. He does much, much more than that, though. Somehow he reaches it, and implausibly he gets it back in play! The rally continues, and Cecchinato has to hit winner after winner before Djokovic finally fails to return one. And with that, he’s 6-5 up. Match point!

This is rock’n’roll. This time Cecchinato’s forehand clips the back of the line, and Djokovic can’t do anything with it. 5-4.

I’m not sure why the crowd is so heavily rooting for the guy who’s won everything against the hyper-entertaining go-for-broke mystery upstart, but they very much are.

Djokovic comes to the net but leaves the ball, which drops a hair’s width wide! That makes in 3-2, and then Cecchinato tries a backhand down the line which lands 2cm wide on the other side! An inch or two the other way on both occasions and he was 5-1 up. Instead, it’s 3-3.

Cecchinato wins the first three points! The way this match has swung in the last 15 minutes has been remarkable. There’s still at least one swing left in it, I reckon.

Cecchinato holds to 15, and we have ourselves a fourth set tie break. The rain, meanwhile, has taken itself elsewhere.

Here’s the Press Association on Madison Keys, who is trying to be nice, and also good:

Madison Keys vowed to carry on smiling after moving closer to a maiden grand slam title.

The happy-go-lucky American is through to the French Open semi-finals for the first time after a straight-sets win over Yulia Putintseva.

She said: “I have actually been told quite often that I’ll never win or do well because I’m too nice a person and I just don’t have it. I think that’s a load of crap, but, you know, it’s just me.

“I don’t think you have to be mean in order to win matches. I think there’s a difference between being intense and wanting it and fighting and just not being nice, so that’s something that I have always stayed true to.

“I’m not ever going to try to be a person that isn’t nice, so that feels more authentic to me and, you know, I think I’m still doing OK. Well, trying to be as nice as possible.”

Updated

Djokovic settles himself and serves it out, winning the game with a backhand that lands an inch inside the baseline.

A fine rally ends with Cecchinato sending a backhand into the net. Deuce.

At 30-30 Djokovic misses his first serve. Big moment. He gets his second serve in safely and the players trade groundstrokes for a while, but then he sends a backhand down the line and just wide! Break point.

Cecchinato streaks to a 40-0 lead, survives a mini-wobble and holds to 30, finishing the game with a power volley into an empty court. It’s 5-5 in the fourth set, and it’s alive once more!

Cecchinato breaks back! Two unforced errors from Djokovic, two clean winners from the Italian, and this fourth set is up for grabs again!

Cecchinato holds to 15. Tactically it’s probably a decent idea for Djokovic to lose that game quickly. With rain threatening to end the day with the match incomplete, he could do with finishing the set as swiftly as possible and trying to get a break up in the next before Cecchinato has a chance to rest.

Djokovic, meanwhile, strolls to another hold, and Cecchinato will serve to stay in the set.

Cecchinato finally holds, clinching the game with an ace. He trails 2-4 in the fourth set, and is clearly knackered/intimidated/scared/confused.

Cecchinato is desperately searching for his mojo. He tries another drop shot, which barely reaches his side of the net, and Djokovic has another break point.

They haven’t stopped playing, and Cecchinato is battling to keep his serve. At game point he played a fine drop shot, only for Djokovic to reach it, and for his reply to clip the net cord, roll along it briefly and plop over the other side.

At 30-30 on Djokovic’s serve, rain starts to fall. He wins the next two points to go 4-1 up in the fourth set, but really Cecchinato could do with a downpour, as he seeks to rediscover the verve he was playing with a while back.

Finally Cecchinato wins a game, and pretty easily too. He’s 1-3 down in the fourth set, but the intensity of the first couple of sets remains distant.

Cecchinato tries a forehand drop shot, which worked so well for him in the opening two sets. This time Djokovic anticipates it, chases it down and sends the ball back across court for a winner. It’s one small nick from an increasingly savagely slashing blade; Djokovic breaks again and leads 2-0 in the fourth.

Now Cecchinato is arguing with the umpire about a close call. The umpire agrees with the line judge that it was out. Apparently the code violation was for leaving the court without permission.

Djokovic comes out and holds to love. These now a crucial moments for Cecchinato, who surely can’t allow this set to slip away as he did the last.

At the changeovers Cecchinato engages in an animated discussion with Wayne McEwen, one of the officials, at the end of which he is given a code violation warning and docked a point. It is unclear what caused this, but the Italian needs to focus and fast, and this surely can’t be helping.

And then Cecchinato is broken to love. Djokovic wins the third set, which was a complete non-event, 6-1.

Djokovic wins the third set 6-1.
Djokovic wins the third set 6-1. Photograph: Christophe Archambault/AFP/Getty Images

Updated

Djokovic holds to 15, with Cecchinato apparently having given up the set.

And he follows it with another break. He’s up two breaks and 4-1 in the third set, and Cecchinato needs to climb his way out of what is only a minor dip.

Finall a hold, and with it Djokovic takes a 3-1 lead in the third set.

“This is brilliant,” writes Adam Hirst. “Where the hell did Checchinato come from? His saves of set points at 5-6 were all phenomenal, and the tie-break wasn’t much different.” There has been a significant dip in quality in this third set so far, but even that has only taken it from phenomenal to very good.

A third sucessive break on Lenglen! From 0-40 Cecchinato saves three break points, wins a game point of his own and then lets it slip. At the end of the game he flings his racket into the clay, furious with himself. Djokovic leads 2-1 in the third set.

Here’s a brief report on Thiem’s victory over Zverev, with a more in-depth version to come from Kevin Mitchell shortly (it’ll be on the same page):

Cecchinato breaks right back again! In truth Djokovic pretty much gave it up, with a succession of loose backhands.

Djokovic has broken in the first game of the third set. His neck issues have, it seems, been forgotten, and he’s up for five sets.

Sloane Stephens beats Daria Kasatkina 6-3, 6-1

Stephens breaks again to win the match in style and set up a semi-final against Madison Keys! “We played last year in the final of the US Open,” she says. “It’s great for American tennis and I’m really excited to play my really good friend.”

Stephens beats Kasatkina 6-3, 6-1.
Stephens beats Kasatkina 6-3, 6-1. Photograph: Michel Euler/AP

Updated

It is fabulous entertainment. Cecchinato deserved to win it, I think, but what fun it’s been to watch.

Cecchinato wins the tie break and leads Djokovic 6-3, 7-6! The Italian has hit 34 winners so far, to Djokovic’s 13.

Cecchinato wins the tie break and leads Djokovic 6-3, 7-6.
Cecchinato wins the tie break and leads Djokovic 6-3, 7-6. Photograph: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Updated

Stephens holds without drama, leads 5-1 in the second set and Kasatkina is serving to stay in it.

Spellbound as I am by what Cecchinato and Djokovic are serving up, I am rather ignoring Sloane Stephens’ slightly more prosaic success on Chatrier. She is 4-1 up in the second set, and serving.

Magic stuff. A great serve, a fantastic response, a phenomenal backhand and an unimprovable winner down the line from Djokovic to win the point, landing perfectly in the corner of the court.

This is fabulously watchable stuff on Lenglen right now. Cecchinato leads the tie break 3-1, with every point so far decided by an outstanding winning shot.

Djokovic wins a break point by correctly predicting a drop shot and setting off even before it’s played, chasing it down with ease and hitting a winner down the line. Cecchinato saves it, and another, and a third. His play here, in these crucial moments, is all power, accuracy and daring, and he is eventually rewarded when Djokovic, on game point, nets a backhand. Tie break!

Stephens has gone a break up in the second set against Kasatkina, which she now leads 2-1.

Djokovic holds to 15, but is really put through the ringer. Cecchinato had never won a match at a Grand Slam before this competition, which seems unimaginable given the strength and variety of his game. Now, though, he’s serving to stay in the set.

Another fabulous point on Lenglen, where Cecchinato is lobbed, chases it down, counter-lobs, Djokovic chases it down and it all ends with Djokovic winning the point.

It’s 4-5, 30-30. A crunch point. Cecchinato produces a brilliant serve, wide to Djokovic’s forehand, upon which his opponent can get only frame. A wild mishit then takes them to deuce, whereupon another good first serve out wide, and a volley into the open court, brings game point, which is won in straightforward style. 5-5.

Cecchinato, serving to stay in the second set at 4-5, loses the first point, and is close to losing the next as he comes towards the net and Djokovic hits down the line. Cecchinato, though, produces a fabulous drop volley; Djokovic chases after it gamely but in the end the only thing he can send back in return is a thumbs up.

Daria Kasatkina sends a forehand into the net, and with that Sloane Stephens wins the first set 6-3!

On Chatrier, Kasatkina seems to have been serving for about half an hour. I’m not sure how many deuces there have been in this game, but it is a high number. Eventualy, though, Stephens comes out on top and she is once again a break up. She’ll serve for the set at 5-3.

Djokovic wins the next four points to hold serve. This is a fun match, occasionally tipping over into outstanding.

Djokovic serves.
Djokovic serves. Photograph: Alessandra Tarantino/AP

Updated

And again Cecchinato comes out on top after a thrilling rally, which he ends with another backhand down the line followed by a forehand drop shot, to set up two break points.

Another great point from Cecchinato, who trades crosscourt backhands with Djokovic for a while before driving one beautifully down the line for the cleanest of winners. It’s 0-30 now, on the Djokovic serve.

Cecchinato has recovered from his mini-wobble, holding serve to level the second set at 3-3.

Meanwhile on Chatrier, Kasatkina has broken back and now trails Stephens by a more manageable 3-4 in the first set.

Djokovic holds, and he has turned a 0-2 deficit into a 3-2 lead in set two and appears to have found a way to deal with two different kinds of pain in the neck.

The tide has turned on Lenglen, where Djokovic has broken back to make the score 2-2 in the second set.

That’s a beautiful point from Cecchinato, whose backhand drop shot after an exchange of ground strokes just clips the outside edge of the line and spins away. Djokovic chases it down, plays a very decent shot of his own down the line and heads to the middle of the net, only to be wrong-footed by a winning backhand. Excellently done.

She wins the first of them, and takes control of the opening set.

Break points also on Chatrier, where Stephens has three of them, as she hunts a 3-1 lead.

Stephens returns.
Stephens returns. Photograph: Michel Euler/AP

Updated

An unforced error decides the game, Djokovic hitting a backhand a couple of inches long, and Cecchinato is 1-0, and a break, up in the second set. In the first set Djokovic hit only three winners, to Cecchinato’s 12.

Now Djokovic is facing two more break points, and another match appears to be being skewed by injury (though Cecchinato’s excellent drop shots have something to do with it).

Djokovic is getting further treatment at the moment. I wouldn’t want to be a tennis player at the moment, they’re all falling apart.

Marco Cecchinato hits an unreturnable serve way out to Djokovic’s forehand side, and with that he takes the first set 6-3!

This is not going as planned for Djokovic: Cecchinato is serving for the first set at 5-3.

The physio is back! This is getting silly now. He’s currently prodding around Novak Djokovic’s neck.

On Chatrier, Kasatkina has won the toss and chosen to receive, so Sloane Stephens will serve when the match starts in a few moments.

There has been a break of serve on Lenglen, and it has gone to Cecchinato, who leads 4-1 in the first set.

Dominic Thiem has a quick chat:

It was very tough for him today. He is one of the fittest guys on tour but even for him it’s tough to play three five setters in a row. For sure we will have many more encounters at this late stage of a Grand Slam, or even later.

I love it so much here. It’s a third time in the semi-finals, it sounds amazing. When I was younger I never expected this, but reaching it for the third time it’s time for more, and I will try everything to take one more step this year.

Dominic Thiem beats Alex Zverev 6-4, 6-2, 6-1

Zverev runs wide onto the forehand in a bit to save a third, but Thiem is at the net, taps the ball into an empty court, and it’s all over!

Dominic Thiem beats Alex Zverev 6-4, 6-2, 6-1.
Dominic Thiem beats Alex Zverev 6-4, 6-2, 6-1. Photograph: Thomas Samson/AFP/Getty Images

Updated

And he saves another by following his serve into the net and playing a nice drop volley.

Thiem earns his first match point, which Zverev saves with a simply fabulous double-handed backhand down the line.

Play is under way in earnest on Lenglen, where Cecchinato has won the first game.

Zverev is certainly running now. I’m not sure why, as he has nothing much to gain at this point except a more serious injury. He chases down a drop shot, then chases down the lob that follows, and loses the point all the same.

Thiem saves the break point and goes on to hold serve and take a 5-1 lead in the third set.

Zverev has a break point! If this turns out to be some kind of rope-a-dope thing and he storms back to win in five, he would earn enormous respect from me.

Zverev wins a game! It’s 4-1 now in the third set and the German, who had won just four points in the entire set before that game started, is on the board.

Marco Cecchinato and Novak Djokovic are on court and about to conduct the coin toss. The winner of this match will play the winner of the one on Chatrier (Thiem, in other words).

Zverev has stopped running. He’s clearly determined to complete the match rather than have a withdrawal on his record, but he’s 4-0 down, some fans are whistling, and his struggle is almost over.

Serena Williams has given an update on her fitness on Instagram, and the news is “super exciting”:

So today has been interesting already. I just finished one exam with one doctor, and the news is actually super exciting, so I’m really happy about that. I’m having an MRI soon, but I wanted to keep you guys totally updated. Thanks for the support and love and understanding.

Zverev has been broken again, and is two sets and 0-3 down.

At 40-15 Zverev hoists up a limp return and looks to have given up the point, but he springs to life as Thiem lifts his racket for the smash and finds the ball heading straight for him. He lashes it back past his opponent, the ball dipping to land an inch before the line! It’s a great winning shot, though he loses the next point and Thiem takes a 2-0 lead all the same.

While all that was going on, Zverev was busy losing his serve in the opening game of the third set.

Keys has a post-match chat:

I definitely needed you guys’ support today, you helped me get through.

I really just had to focus, because she was playing so well. I needed to take a couple more balls and then when I had the right one to go for it, to trust my game.

I’m obviously very happy to win in straight sets and looking forward to playing whoever wins the next match.

She will play either Sloane Stephens or Daria Kasatkina, who follow Thiem v Zverev on Philippe Chatrier.

Madison Keys beats Yulia Putintseva 7-6, 6-4

Keys serves an ace out wide to Putintseva’s backhand to become the first person in the semi-finals!

Madison Keys beats Yulia Putintseva 7-6, 6-4.
Madison Keys beats Yulia Putintseva 7-6, 6-4. Photograph: Cameron Spencer/Getty Images

Updated

Zverev is back on court and preparing to serve at the start of the third set.

A couple of holds on Lenglen, which means Madison Keys will serve for the match at 5-4 in the second set.

Zverev has limped off court at the end of that second set. Victory seems mind-bogglingly improbable for him right now.

Thiem wins the second set against Zverev and leads 6-4, 6-2!

Thiem is playing a near-perfect game here, serving out wide to get his opponent stretching from the start, and then working him around the court until he submits. Then he bangs one serve down the middle, and Zverev isn’t expecting it, can’t reach it, and Thiem has three set points.

A break of serve on Lenglen, and it could be decisive: Keys, who seems by a distance the more popular player with a still sparse French crowd, has taken a 4-3 lead in the second set.

“Shame the draw brought these two together here, not in the semis,” writes Adam Hirst. “Zverev though … he’s got a minimum of four sets here if he wants to go through. He’d have nothing left in the legs for Sunday if he made it, so for the sake of a potentially vaguely interesting final, I have to go for Thiem here.” It looks very much like you’re going to get your wish, as Zverev looks unlikely to last three sets today, let alone the five it will surely now take for him to win. Thiem has held serve again, and leads 5-1 in the second set.

Zverev hits a backhand into the net to lose the second of those break points, Thiem leads 4-1 in the second set and the trainer is on to look at the German’s hamstring.

He loses the next one, though, Thiem dropping a sliced backhand to Zverev’s ankles and the resulting half-volley spinning wide. The Austrian has two break points!

At 0-30 Zverev serves and volleys, but finds himself exposed at the net as Thiem winds up a backhand. Somehow though he gets a racket to it to save the point!

Zverev serves.
Zverev serves. Photograph: Clive Brunskill/Getty Images

Updated

On Chatrier Zverev has been broken, but at 2-1 in the second set earns a break point of his own. Thiem saves it in chaotic style, with both players by the end at the net and Thiem eventually powering the ball past his opponent. He wins the next point with a fine drop-shot-and-lob double whammy, and wins the game from there. He leads 6-4, 3-1.

Drama on Lenglen, where Putintseva calls the umpire over to check a mark after Keys’ serve was called in. The umpire says it is in. “Oh my god!” cries Putintseva, who strops for a while before heading back to prepare for the next point.

Zverev clutches his left hamstring again, worryingly. His movement doesn’t seem to be restricted, but clearly there is an issue there.

Here’s some reading while the players get stuck in to their second sets: Kevin Mitchell on Andy Murray.

Andy Murray said on Tuesday he still hopes to play at Wimbledon after a year out nursing his chronic hip injury, but he knows better than anyone that time is running out.

He was still on the entry list on Tuesday afternoon for the Rosmalen grass tournament in Holland which starts on Monday, but the former world No 1 confirmed in a sponsored interview in London that he has had serious issues with his rehabilitation after a hip operation in Melbourne in January.

“It’s been very slow,” Murray said of his recovery. “I’ve been out getting close to a year now which is a lot longer than I think me or any of my team expected at the beginning. But I’m getting closer to playing again. I’ve started training a few days ago and hoping to make my comeback during the grass court season.”

Read more here:

Madison Keys wins the first set 7-6! She just destroyed Putintseva in that fourth set point with groundstrokes of a power and accuracy that her opponent simply couldn’t match. Putintseva fought to stay in the point, but was eventually bullied out of it when a third brutal shot flew way out of reach.

Keys has hit 17 winners to her opponent’s six, but 13 unforced errors to Putintseva’s three. If she cut out just a third of those unnecessary mistakes, she’d be easily on top. As it is she has a third set point at 6-4, but Putintseva volleys the ball into the net cord and over to save it.

Putintseva keeps nailing backhand drop-shots; twice in three points Keys has been forced to sprint towards the net only to push the ball into, rather than over, it. Still, Keys leads 5-3 in the tie break.

No such drama on Chatrier, where Thiem misses a pretty straightforward volley on set point, but then bashes down an unreturnable serve to take his next opportunity and win the first set 6-4!

Putintseva serves to stay in a set she might already have won, and finds herself 15-40 down and on the verge of losing a fourth successive game! Three unforced errors and a poor, easily chased-down drop-shot later it’s six games apiece. Tie break!

There has been a first break of serve on Chatrier, and it hasn’t gone against Dominic “Mr 43%” Thiem, but Sascha “66%” Zverev! Thiem leads 4-3 in the first set.

Putintseva is serving for the first set, but finds herself 15-40 down. And then Keys powers a forehand down the line and out of reach, and she’s broken back! It’s 5-5 now.

At the other end of the statistical spectrum, Dominic Thiem has held serve in straightforward style three times despite a first serve percentage of just 43%. It’s currently 3-3 on Chatrier.

Putintseva’s first serve percentage is rolling at 90%, and she’s winning 77% of the points that follow.

Putintseva holds to 15 with a total absence of drama, and leads 5-3 in the first set.

A first break point on Lenglen, set up when Putintseva reaches Keys’ drop shot and produces an even better drop shot, and she takes it to storm into a 4-3 first-set lead!

A fine point on Chatrier ends with Thiem putting away a smash and Zverev gingerly feeling his left hamstring. No more withdrawals please, tennis gods!

It’s all going with serve so far, but on Chatrier we have had the always-welcome drama of a ball-through-legs shot from Zverev. It almost brought him the point: Thiem should have put away the resulting volley but failed, and then as Zverev attempted to pass had to produce a fantastic stretching backhand volley.

We have action! On Lenglen, Madison Keys serves first and holds pretty comfortably.

Just starting on Court 1 is another doubles match, between the women’s No3 seeds, Andreja Klepac and Maria Jose Martinez Sanchez, and the sixth seeds, Barbora Krejcikova and Katerina Siniakova.

The players are out on the two show courts, with action but a few moments away. Meanwhile in doubles news, Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic, the No2 seeds, have beaten Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah 3-6, 6-4, 6-3.

Zverev, having battled his way through three consecutive five-setters to reach this stage, has played nearly two and a half hours’ more tennis in this tournament than Thiem. What, I wonder, is the highest number of sets played by a Grand Slam champion? I’m not sure anyone has played more than three five-set matches on their way to victory (Kuerten did that here in 1997).

While we wait for action to get under way, here’s an update on Andy Murray’s progress:

The only senior match currently in play is between Juan Sebastian Cabal and Robert Farah, the No5 seeds in the men’s doubles, and Oliver Marach and Mate Pavic, the second seeds. The latter pair have just levelled the match at a set apiece, and Marach is serving in the first game of the third.

Hello world!

Welcome to the French Open quarter-finals! The show courts will get two matches each, unless it rains (by 5pm there is a 50% chance of rain in Paris, rising to nearly 80% by 8pm), in which case they’ll get what they’re given and be happy with it. First up on Chatrier is Dominic Thiem against Sascha Zverev: Thiem leads 4-2 on the head-to-head, having won their first three meetings in 2016. “We played five times when he was in the top 10 and I was developing, so obviously he leads,” sniffs Zverev. On Lenglen, Madison Keys plays Yulia Putinsteva for the second time, having lost their previous meeting in Tokyo two years ago. Here’s the quarter-final order of play in full, with play due to start at 1pm BST/2pm local:

Philippe Chatrier Court

Dominic Thiem (7) v Alexander Zverev (2)
Sloane Stephens (10) v Daria Kasatkina (14)

Suzanne Lenglen Court

Yulia Putinsteva v Madison Keys (13)
Marco Cecchinato v Novak Djokovic (20)

Updated

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