The men’s singles match we have been waiting for at the French Open will take place Friday.
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal won their quarterfinal matches Wednesday to set up a rematch of the 2020 men’s final.
Both of the star players advanced to the final four through four-set victories. Djokovic outlasted Matteo Berrettini, and Nadal took down Diego Schwartzman on Court Philippe Chatrier.
The men’s semifinals feature four of the top six seeds in the draw, but the same can’t be said about the women’s singles competition.
Maria Sakkari joined Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova as one of the two seeded women in the final four. The Greek advanced by way of a straight-set win over reigning champion Iga Swiatek.
Sakkari and Barbora Krejickova face a quick turnaround to Thursday’s semifinal matches. The men’s semifinals take place Friday.
Wednesday French Open Results
Men’s Singles
No. 1 Novak Djokovic def. No. 9 Matteo Berrettini, 6-3, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5
No. 3 Rafael Nadal def. No. 10 Diego Schwartzman, 6-3, 4-6, 6-4, 6-0
Djokovic let out an explosive roar after he closed out Berrettini on his third match point in the fourth set. He had a hard time breaking the ninth-seeded Italian, as he converted on four of his nine opportunities in the match.
The No. 1 seed did not let Berrettini feel comfortable at all in his return game, as Djokovic allowed only three break-point chances.
Berrettini failed to convert on any of them and he had to battle in a third-set tiebreak just to get a set off the Serbian. Berrettini won the third-set tiebreak by a slim 7-5 margin, but he could not carry that momentum into what was the final set.
Djokovic finished off the match after an 18-minute delay in which spectators had to be removed from the stadium because of the curfew in place in Paris.
Nadal’s set-winning streak was ended at 36 by Schwartzman.
However, the second-set win was the only victory the 10th-seeded Argentinian could get off Nadal.
The reigning men’s singles champion delivered a commanding response in the final two sets and finished off the match with a fourth-set shutout.
Schwartzman only broke Nadal’s serve on three occasions, two of which came in the second set. His final break-point win at 5-4 in the second set allowed him to level the match.
Once Nadal took control again, he put in a masterclass of a finish. He won 22 of the final 26 points of the match.
Women’s Singles
No. 17 Maria Sakkari def. No. 8 Iga Swiatek, 6-4, 6-4
Barbora Krejcikova def. No. 24 Coco Gauff, 7-6 (6), 6-3
A new Grand Slam winner on the women’s side will be crowned Saturday.
Maria Sakkari’s elimination of Iga Swiatek confirmed that. Swiatek won her first Grand Slam at Roland Garros last October.
The 17th-seeded Greek was impressive in the straight-set win over the top women’s seed remaining in the tournament.
Sakkari benefited the most from a three-game swing at the end of the first set and the start of the second set. She broke Swiatek’s serve at 4-4 in the opening set and followed that up with a hold that clinched an early victory.
Sakkari continued that momentum into the second set, as she broke Swiatek in her first service game. The Greek kept that advantage throughout the second set. She held serve on each of the five occasions she had in the final set.
Sakkari will take on Krejcikova, who ousted American teenager Coco Gauff in the afternoon’s first match.
Krejcikova and Gauff went through a battle at the back end of the first set. Krejcikova held at 5-6 after 10 points were played on her serve.
The unseeded Czech then fought back from 4-6 down in the first-set tiebreak to secure an advantage in the match. Krejcikova went on to capture the first five games of the second set that opened up a large margin of error to close out the victory.
The 25-year-old’s serve was broken on her first chance to finish the match on serve, but she did not waste another opportunity.
Krejcikova won four straight points on her serve in the final game to set up her clash with Sakkari on Thursday afternoon.
Statistics obtained from RolandGarros.com.