Thiem reaches third straight French Open semi-final
Dominic Thiem reached his third successive French Open semi-final yesterday with a 6-4, 6-2, 6-1 demolition of a hobbled and exhausted Alexander Zverev.
Thiem, the Austrian seventh seed, will face either 2016 champion and 12-time Major winner Novak Djokovic or Italy's world No. 72 Marco Cecchinato for a place in Sunday's final.
German second seed Zverev simply ran out of gas, paying a heavy price for needing three successive five-set matches to reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final. His Roland Garros marathon also left him physically drained - he needed his left thigh strapped in the second set.
"He is one of the fittest guys on the tour, so it was difficult for him today," said Thiem, the only man to have defeated 10-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal on clay this year.
"I hope we have many more matches at the Grand Slams, but when we are 100 per cent. It's great to reach the semi-finals for a third year, but it's time to take another step and I will do everything for that."
The statistics made bleak reading for Zverev, who had spent 2½ hours more than his opponent getting to this stage. He finished with 42 unforced errors and just 19 winners.
Meanwhile, in the women's quarter-finals, 13th seed Madison Keys proved too strong for Kazakhstan's Yulia Putintseva as she reached the French Open semi-finals for the first time after winning 7-6 (7/5), 6-4.
She will meet Sloane Stephens, who defeated Daria Kasatkina 6-3, 6-1. - AFP
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