Well, there we have it. 19-year-old Marketa Vondrousova will play Johanna Konta for a place in the French Open final. Before this year’s tournament, they had won one match between them at Roland Garros. It’s quite the story. I’m signing off now but stay tuned for more reports and reaction.
Marketa Vondrousova wins 7-6 (1), 7-5!
Vondrousova gets bulled in the next rally, and sends a wafted lob into the air in desperation – only for Martic to net the smash! A fourth match point, and this time the Czech gets the job done, forcing Martic back and into a desperate lob of her own. It drifts wide, and Vondrousova is in the semi-finals!
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Martic looks in control of the game, but a running backhand down the line from her opponent clips a net cord, and suddenly it’s 30-all. Ferocious defensive work keeps her in the next, and Martic fires wide. Third match point for Vondrousova – but she can’t get near an inside-out forehand that zips down the line!
Vondrousova holds serve, thanks largely to Martic losing her range again. The Croatian will have to serve out the set now, if we’re to have a second straight tie-break.
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Martic holds serve as her opponent tightens up; a pattern is emerging here. As soon as Martic gets back on terms, her level drops. As soon as Vondrousova gets within sight of winning, the nerves kick in. We could be here a while. Or five more minutes. Who knows. 5-5 in the second.
Well, then. Two match points have come and gone for Vondrousova, and Martic can level the set. She’s in control of the game, but again lets her opponent back in, and an ill-advised drop shot brings up deuce...
Vondrousova saves the break point with a well-timed drop shot, but Martic has another chance after the match’s longest rally, showing quicker hands at the net. The Czech dominates the next point, Martic controls the next. Another break chance as the game goes past eight minutes... and this time her opponent nets!
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Martic swings between well-constructed points and dismal unforced errors, allowing Vondrousova to work her way to a second match point – but she double faults! The nerves are kicking in now, and Martic attacks a short ball to earn a break point...
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Martic is trying to keep the rallies short – the longer they goes on, the worse her chances of winning them. That leads to a couple of rash shots that let Vondrousova back in from 40-15 down. A wild mishit then hands the Czech a match point, but some crucial big first serves get her out of trouble.
Will the pressure tell on Vondrousova? Not a bit of it, as she marches to two break-back points, then pummels Martic into submission from the baseline. She’s back ahead in the set, and after another nerveless service game moves 5-2 up, and one game away.
Martic has rediscovered her mojo, breaking Vondrousova to get this set back on serve. In the men’s doubles, Britain’s Joe Salisbury and partner Rajeev Ram are out, beaten 6-4, 7-6 (6) by France’s Jeremy Chardy and Fabrice Martin.
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The winner of this will play – as if you needed telling – Johanna Konta. The British No 1 is into her third grand slam semi-final, but is focused on going the distance:
Vondrousova takes a spill coming into the net, but appears to be OK beyond getting covered in clay. Martic stops the rot in this set with a service hold, but still trails 6-7, 1-3.
This match has turned dramatically in Vondrousova’s favour. From 5-3 down, she took the first set to a tie-break, won it 7-1, and has now broken Martic to lead 2-0. No signs of nerves yet from the 19-year-old.
Vondrousova wins the first set tie-break!
The teenager rattles off the next two points, winning the breaker 7-1. She’s one set away from a semi-final with Jo Konta.
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Thanks, Simon. We’re into a first-set tie break, and Vondrousova has the edge after ending a rally with a delicate drop shot. A horrible mis-hit from Martic puts the Czech 5-1 up at the changeover...
With the day’s final singles match delicately poised, I’m going to hand over to Niall McVeigh. Bye!
Martic wins the first point with a phenomenal passing shot, probably the best shot of the match so far, and then wins an attritional second, just clobbering the ball back again and again until Vondrousova makes a mistake. From there, Vondrousova wins four points on the spin to hold, the last with both players at the net, trading mediocre volleys until the younger player finally put it away. 5-5.
Not so fast! Vondrousova sets up break point with a vicious forehand, and then Martic miscues a forehand wide at the end of a gruelling rally of effort-packed, high-powered tennis (though it’s mostly not very accurate, with the ball landing very much midcourt).
Martic has won all four of her previous meetings against Vondrousova, all of them in the last two years (the Czech is only 19, so there weren’t many opportunities before that), and is taking control of this one now: she breaks again, and leads 5-3 in the first set.
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Martic breaks straight back to level the scores at 3-3. To return briefly to the doubles, Martin and Chardy provided the headline result of the competition so far by knocking out the No1 seeds, Lukasz Kubot and Marcelo Melo, in the third round, and will of course have the overwhelming support of the French fans behind them.
Also on court at the moment is Britain’s Joe Salisbury, who with America’s Rajeev Ram is seeded 11th in the men’s doubles. They have however just lost the first set of their quarter-final, being broken to love in its final game by the French pairing of Fabrice Martin and Jeremy Chardy.
Break points! Vondrousova has a couple of opportunities to make a breakthrough on Martic’s serve, and she takes the second of them with a forehand down the line. She leads 3-2 in the first set.
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Here’s some of Roger Federer’s post-match reaction:
"Hmm... the next opponent is ok. He knows how to play on clay, unfortunately. Thinking back, what a pleasure to be back at Roland-Garros. If I came back on clay, it's also perhaps to play Rafa. Here it is. I have the match." 😉
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 4, 2019
Two more holds, both players hitting the ball clean and true if not reaching the heights we enjoyed in the other quarter-final earlier today. Still, there’s time yet.
Both players hold their opening service games in pretty straightforward style, with Vondrousova concluding hers with a classic drop-shot/lob double-whammy.
Who, then, will play Jo Konta in the semi-final? Will it be Petra Martic, the Croatian 31st seed, or Marketa Vondrousova, the unseeded Czech? We’re about to find out: they have just emerged onto Suzanne Lenglen ahead of their quarter-final.
Here are some highlights from Jo Konta’s press conference today:
Roger Federer beats Stan Wawrinka 7-6, 4-6, 7-6, 6-4!
A misjudgement from Federer in the first point, leaving a ball which dips to bounce a few inches inside the baseline, gives Wawrinka hope. He levels the game at 15-15 and then serves his first double-fault of the match. A see-saw rally ends with Fed’s forehand dropping just on the line to make it 30-30, and then the No3 seed comes to the net to kill off the next point and set up match point. Wawrinka is furious with how that rally played out and swishes his racket angrily against the clay, and the next point sees him surge to the net to win it.
It becomes a repeated race to the net, and it’s one that Federer keeps winning. At deuce Wawrinka curls a fabulous forehand past him to set up break point, which is saved with a dainty drop-volley, with Wawrinka stranded way beyond the baseline. Federer ekes out another match point, and gives it away with another double fault! Those, though, are his last mistakes, and two more points of impeccable, attacking tennis decide the game!
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Meanwhile events are moving fast on Lenglen. Federer has just broken Wawrinka to take a 5-4 lead in the fourth set, and in a few moments he will serve for a place in the semis!
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Nadal will play the winner of the Federer-Wawrinka match in the semi-final. It will be his 12th time in the final four of the French Open – on each of the 11 previous occasions he has gone on to win the thing.
Rafael Nadal beats Kei Nishikori 6-1, 6-1, 6-3
Nadal finds himself 15-30 down, but Nishikori is not to be saved by a late wobble: the Spaniard hits successive service winners to take himself to match point, and when Nishikori miscues a forehand wide, it’s all over!
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It looks like Nadal won’t be back for long. He’s 5-3 up now in the third set and about to serve for the match.
The players have warmed up and play is about to resume. They’ve been off for a shade over an hour, which could have helped the fading Nishikori, but perhaps hindered the mid-flow Wawrinka. Time will tell…
Tennis incoming!
Nadal and Nishikori back out on court. Federer and Wawrinka should be out soon...
— George Bellshaw (@BellshawGeorge) June 4, 2019
There will be no play before 6.30pm local time, or 5.30pm BST. This does not mean that there will be play after that time, but it’s at least promising.
No play before 6:30 p.m. local time.#RG19
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 4, 2019
The rain has arrived, along with heavy winds and something not far away from darkness. Time for Parisians to take shelter indoors. We’ll be back when things brighten, which is unlikely to be in less than an hour.
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The forecast, according to Eurosport, is for heavy downpours that will last a couple of hours.
Imminent rain stops play!
There is also a referee on Chatrier, trying to convince the players to leave. Nadal isn’t very happy about it, being as he is 4-2 up in what might prove the last set, but he is overruled and they’re off as well!
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The tournament referee is on court, and discussing the future with Federer and Wawrinka. And after a brief chat, and even though no rain has fallen as yet, play is suspended with the score 3-3 in the fourth set.
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There are mean, dark clouds gathering above Roland Garros, and the players could be forced off by rainfall at any time. It might be too late to stop Nadal, though: he’s broken in the third set, and leads Nishikori 6-1, 6-1, 3-1.
It’s two injury-affected years since Wawrinka last went past the second round of a Grand Slam, but some of the tennis he is producing here is pretty close to Peak Stan. There’s a backhand crosscourt passing shot in this game that is an absolute snorter. But sadly for him “le maestro Roger Federer est de retour”. There aren’t many players who could live with what Wawrinka is producing here, but Federer is managing it. He wins a couple more break points (he’s had 16 now, taking one), but Wawrinka holds. It’s 3-2 in the fourth set, on serve.
#RG19 LE MAESTRO ROGER FEDERER EST DE RETOUR ! L'ex-numéro un mondial a livré un tie-break de haut niveau face à Stanislas Wawrinka pour remporter le 3e set !
— France tv sport (@francetvsport) June 4, 2019
#RolandGarros #RG
➡ Suivez la rencontre en direct : https://t.co/69KVplo92z pic.twitter.com/XmjINO9TpM
Federer wins two break points on the Wawrinka serve. The first is saved with a fabulous serve down the middle, the second with a thunderous serve out wide followed by a killer forehand. Another excellent forehand, this one more finessed, gives Wawrinka game point, which he loses. And so fortune continues to fluctuate – Federer wins another break point, his 15th of the match (one converted) – before Wawrinka eventually holds. Absolutely compelling, this.
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Absolutely right: Djere was beaten in round three, and Paire in round four (also in five sets).
@Simon_Burnton Nishikori played Benoit Paire in the last round.
— Vivian (@wvchan) June 4, 2019
Nishikori has called on the trainer, who is poking the player’s right arm. Nishikori came back from a double break down in the deciding set against Laslo Djere in the last round, but this looks like a comeback too far.
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Meanwhile Rafael Nadal’s stroll on Chatrier continues. He has sealed the second set, and leads Nishikori 6-1, 6-1.
Federer wins the third set on the tie break! At 3-6 Wawrinka holds a couple of service points to keep the battle going, but he then stands so far back to return a second serve that he makes his own life more complicated than it really ought to have been and ends up netting an underpowered backhand. Federer leads 7-6, 4-6, 7-6!
This Federer match is absolutely stonking entertainment. The first point of the tie-break includes an excellent backhand approach from Federer, a brilliant forehand passing shot from Wawrinka, and an absolutely impossible backhand volley winner from Federer.
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It’ll take another tie-break to separate Federer and Wawrinka and decide the third set on Lenglen. On Chatrier, Nadal is 4-1 up in the second, serving and basically being completely awesome.
Wawrinka wins a break point and a chance to retake control of the third set. A drop shot brings Federer to the net, but the great man is perfectly happy to be there and puts away a lovely volley. He takes control of the next point, forcing Wawrinka to hoist up an underpowered defensive lob, but Fed mistimes his smash, which balloons wide! From there Federer turns to serve-volleying on his first serve, saves the break point and holds! As, on Chatrier, does Nadal, who leads 3-1 in the second set now.
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Nadal has broken right back again, and leads 2-1 in a second set in which neither he nor Nishikori has held serve.
A couple of unexpected momentum-shifts later, Nishikori has broken back to level the second set against Nadal at 1-1, and Wawrinka has held serve, finishing the game with a phenomenal backhand down the line, to take the third set to 5-5!
Nadal wins the first set against Nishikori 6-1, and then breaks in the first game of the second set for good measure. Federer, meanwhile, has executed a stunning turnaround: a few moments ago he was a break down in the third set, now he’s just earned a second set point, with a beautifully-judged lob (Wawrinka’s decision to leave it was less well judged).
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Federer earns his ninth break point against Wawrinka and this time, for the first time, he wins it! Or rather, Wawrinka surrenders it, with a limp, overhit forehand from midcourt. It’s 4-4 there, in the third set.
Wawrinka breaks to take a 4-3 lead in the third set against Federer, who is struggling at the moment! The same is not true of Nadal, who has taken control of the first set against Nishikori. The Spaniard has just broken a second time, and leads 5-1.
Here’s Kevin Mitchell on Jo Konta:
Johanna Konta’s Paris dream refuses to end, as she buried an in-form Sloane Stephens on the rebuilt clay of Court Philippe Chatrier, 6-1, 6-4 to become the first British semi-finalist here since Jo Durie in 1983.
It was a stunning performance, one of the best in her career, 71 minutes packed with searing serves, six aces among 25 winners, to leave the 2018 finalist clueless from start to finish.
“That was one of the best claycourt matches – ever,” was Chris Evert’s final judgment “I could not see this coming. But all credit to Jo Konta. I’m speechless. Not even giving her a glimpse ... Jo Konta I take my hat off to you.”
Much more here:
Nishikori has lost his first service game and is 2-0 down to Nadal. The Spaniard has a 10-2 head-to-head advantage, with both defeats coming on hard courts.
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Rafael Nadal is on court and has just started his match against Kei Nishikori. The Spaniard served first, and has won the first game to 15.
Wawrinka roars to a 40-0 lead but Federer doesn’t stop fighting and battles back to deuce. Stan drops a backhand on the line to earn another set point, which he greets with a roar and a fist-pump, and he takes it to level the match. It’s Wawrinka 6-7, 6-4 Federer!
Federer holds to love – after Wawrinka did likewise; in fact there have been 12 consecutive points won on serve – but Wawrinka is about to serve to level the quarter-final at a set apiece.
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There is nobody in this draw who wouldn’t be brought to a state of absolute terror by watching that Konta performance. It might be hard to maintain that ludicrously high level, but if she can she’ll be hard to stop.
More chat from Konta: “It was a great performance, I thought. I was really pleased with the level I played, more than anything. Sloane is a reat player and I knew going into the match that it was going to be difficult. I’m just really pleased. The serve is definitely something I’m looking to utilise. I’m just happy I’m able to do that right now. I’m just so pleased with each match that I’m involved in, I’m really pleased with the work I’m doing with my team and overall just enjoying my tennis.”
“To play on this court, this is my first match on Chatrier, to be out here and play at the level I did against one of the best players in the world, I’m just really proud of myself,” says Konta. So she should be. That was a simply incredible performance, a near-irresistible display of power, aggression and accuracy.
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On Chatrier, Wawrinka has broken in the second set, which he leads 3-1.
Johanna Konta is in the French Open semi-finals!
Second set: Konta* 6-1, 6-4 Stephens Konta starts the game with an ace, and continues it with a service winner. It’s her 18th consecutive point won on serve in this set, a ludicrous run she proceeds to break with a double fault. She’s not delayed for long, though: another unreturnable serve down the middle and she has two match points. Stephens thinks she’s saved the first when her forehand is called in, but Konta asks the umpire to check the mark, and she confirms it was wide! Konta is through in straight sets!
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Second set: Konta 6-1, 5-4 Stephens* At 15-0 Konta forces Stephens into the net and has an easy passing opportunity, but with the whiff of a double-break victory in her nostrils she misses her chance, Stephens guesses the right way and puts the volley away. That’s the cushion she needs to win the game to 30, and Konta will now serve for the match.
Second set: Konta* 6-1, 5-3 Stephens The first point is a statement of intent from Konta, starting with a fantastic first serve down the T – which Stephens miraculously manages to return reasonably well – and won with a pinpoint forehand. It’s another hold to love, completed with a forehand drop shot from well behind the baseline, which gives Stephens absolutely no chance.
Second set: Konta 6-1, 4-3 Stephens* Stephens is famously fast around the court, but she has stopped chasing any but the weaker Konta shots, or those that head down the central third of the court. She still holds to 15, though, thanks to some fine serving and one wild backhand return. But having failed to win a single point against Konta’s serve in this set she must now break, and has only two more opportunities to do so.
Second set: Konta* 6-1, 4-2 Stephens Konta’s fourth service game of the second set, and Stephens still hasn’t won a point. Just phenomenal.
Second set: Konta 6-1, 3-2 Stephens* Konta’s second drop shot of the match is in no way as good as her first, and is dismissed by Stephens for a winner. That’s the first point of a straightforward hold, featuring two service winners and an absolutely vicious forehand. Meanwhile Federer has won the first set against Wawrinka, taking the tie-break 7-4.
Second set: Konta* 6-1, 3-1 Stephens The first drop shot of the match has Stephens sprinting netwards, and by the time she reaches the ball she’s practically in it, which is where the ball ends up. Konta ends the game with an ace, and is yet to drop a point on her serve in this second set.
Konta playing lights out tennis at moment against last years finalist @SloaneStephens ! All out aggression off both wings and serving rockets - @Eurosport_UK @rolandgarros #Paris
— Annabel Croft (@Annabel_Croft) June 4, 2019
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Second set: Konta 6-1, 2-1 Stephens* The most fractional of dips by Konta, who hits a couple of shot very marginally long, and then a forehand return very wildly wide, giving Stephens a foothold in the set.
Second set: Konta* 6-1, 2-0 Stephens Stephens is starting to look broken in spirit. She chases down a deep, vicious forehand and sends back a defensive shot that lands in, but from there she doesn’t even try to prolong the rally, letting Konta hit the ball into an empty court while she trudges back to her mark for the next point. Konta holds to love, and is playing absurdly well.
Meanwhile on Lenglen, Wawrinka and Federer will settle the first set with a tie-break.
Second set: Konta 6-1, 1-0 Stephens* At 30-30 Konta bounces her way to victory, hitting a backhand of such wild loopiness that even after running right to the back of the court and leaping as high as she possibly can Stephens can’t get anything on it. The American saves the ensuing break point but swiftly concedes another; this time Konta approaches the net and Stephens hits a passing shot that whips across court but lands an inch wide! Konta leads by a set and a break!
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First set: Konta* 6-1 Stephens Stephens pretty much surrenders this game, once Konta wins the first point with a second serve that bounces up into the American’s body and can’t be returned. A service winner and an ace later Konta has three set points: Stephens saves the first, drawing her opponent to the net before passing, then Konta miscues a forehand off the frame of her racket and long, but she wins the game, and the set, at the third attempt!
Meanwhile it’s still going with serve on Lenglen, Wawrinka currently leading 5-4. Federer, though, is winning his service games with ease, taking 92% of points on his first serve (to Wawrinka’s 83%) and 80% on second serve (33%). Wawrinka has saved four break points so far.
First set: Konta 5-1 Stephens* At 0-15 Stephens misses her first serve, and her second serve bounces invitingly to Konta’s backhand. She absolutely lashes it crosscourt for a winner, a shot of frightening aggression and accuracy. The next she wins with a backhand down the line, and that’s three break points. Stephens saves one, Konta saves the next for her with a wild forehand return, but a killer forehand takes the next point and Konta is up a double break!
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First set: Konta* 4-1 Stephens Konta didn’t win a single rally in this game. When Stephens got the ball back in play, she won the point. However, she didn’t get many balls back in play. A couple of forehand winners put Stephens 0-30 up, but the next time Konta has to play a groundstroke it’s 40-30, and though the American wins that point to take it to deuce, two more service winners take the game.
First set: Konta 3-1 Stephens* Konta has shifted up into top gear now, and at this moment she is bettering Stephens. The third point is a fine example, the pair trading crosscourt forehands until Konta eventually nailed one too deep and too hard and Stephens couldn’t get it back. It’s soon 15-40, and though Stephens saves one break point with a phenomenal driven forehand, she surrenders the next with a backhand that drops long!
First set: Konta* 2-1 Stephens Konta holds to 15 and even the point she lost was emphatically bossed, although she ended it by hitting her forehand winner, with Stephens marooned on the other side of the court, six inches wide.
First set: Konta 1-1 Stephens* Both players have rapidly hit their straps, trading clean, powerful strokes from the baseline. Stephens has a considerably easier time holding her serve than Konta did, though, taking the game to 15 and ending it with a very fine deep, spinning serve that forced Konta too wide.
First set: Konta* 1-0 Stephens Konta overhits a forehand and then a first serve, Stephens pouncing to take a 0-30 lead with an excellent, deep forehand. Konta fights back to 30-30 only to concede a break point. She saves that, has a few game points of her own and finally holds a lengthy and very promising game. By the time it ends, Wawrinka is already 2-1 up on Lenglen, with serve.
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Ready to rock. Stephens won the toss, and chose to receive.
The players are out and preparing for action. I’ll be concentrating initially on Konta v Stephens, but will keep a beady eye on action on Suzanne Lenglen.
Here’s Kevin Mitchell on Jo Konta and her latest coach, Dimitri Zavialoff. She and Sloane Stephens have played only twice, both this year, and Konta has won both matches. Most recently, she beat Stephens 6-7, 6-4, 6-1 in Rome last month.
Hello world!
We have only four matches of senior, singles tennis ahead of us today, but they’re good ’uns. First up, it’s Stan Wawrinka v Roger Federer on Suzanne Lenglen, with Federer holding a 22-3 head-to-head advantage over his compatriot. Wawrinka’s last victory over Federer was in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros in 2015, the year he won the title, and all three Wawrinka wins have come on clay, the other two in Monte Carlo in 2014 and 2009. Counting only games on clay, Federer’s head-to-head lead is only 4-3. Meanwhile, on Philippe Chatrier, it’s Johanna Konta v Sloane Stephens for a place in what would be the Briton’s third Grand Slam semi-final.
Order of play
Philippe Chatrier (from 1pm BST)
(7) Sloane Stephens v Johanna Konta (26)
(7) Kei Nishikori v Rafael Nadal (2)
Suzanne Lenglen (from 1pm BST)
(24) Stan Wawrinka v Roger Federer (3)
Marketa Vondrousova v Petra Martic (31)
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