Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Poland’s Jan Zielinski on Tuesday surged into the French Open mixed doubles semi-finals, while Novak Djokovic’s worst fears materialized as a knee injury forced him out of Roland Garros.
Hsieh and Zielinksi blasted past top seeds Ellen Perez and Matthew Ebden of Australia 6-3, 6-4 in just more than an hour to set up a showdown between the Australian Open winners and Desirae Krawczyk of the US and Neal Skupski of England on Court Simonne-Mathieu.
That match that was to begin after press time last night.
Photo: AFP
The fourth-seeded American-English duo on Tuesday took down China’s Zhang Shuai and El Salvador’s Marcelo Arevalo 7-6 (8/6), 6-4 to advance to the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, world No. 1 and 24-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic withdrew ahead of his quarter-final against Casper Ruud after a scan revealed a torn medial meniscus in his right knee.
The 37-year-old Djokovic had blamed the “slippery” Roland Garros courts for aggravating the problem during his last-16 win on Monday.
“I am really sad to announce that I have to withdraw from Roland Garros,” Djokovic wrote on social media. “My team and I had to make a tough decision after careful consideration and consultation.”
Ruud, who lost to Djokovic in last year’s final, would receive a walkover and play Alexander Zverev or Alex de Minaur in the semi-finals tomorrow.
Djokovic’s injury-enforced exit from the tournament also means that Jannik Sinner would next week become Italy’s first No. 1 in the sport.
For the first time since 2004, the men’s final in Paris would not feature Djokovic, Rafael Nadal or Roger Federer.
Second seed Sinner reached his first Roland Garros semi-final shortly after the news of Djokovic’s withdrawal, beating Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (7/3).
“It’s every player’s dream to become No. 1 in the world. On the other hand, seeing Novak retiring [from the tournament] is disappointing, so I wish him a speedy recovery,” Sinner said.
The Australian Open champion goes through to a blockbuster clash with Carlos Alcaraz, a 6-3, 7-6 (7/3), 6-4 winner over Stefanos Tsitsipas in a repeat of last year’s quarter-final.
Alcaraz is looking increasingly assured in Paris after an injury-hit preparation, and has now won all six encounters with Tsitsipas.
The 21-year-old Spaniard is seeking to become the youngest man to win Grand Slams on all three surfaces by adding to his Wimbledon title from a year ago and the 2022 US Open crown.
“It’s going to be a really difficult challenge for me, but I’m ready to take that challenge,” Alcaraz said of facing Sinner. “It’s the match everybody wants to watch... Let’s see who’s going to win.”
Earlier in the day, women’s reigning champion Iga Swiatek thrashed Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova 6-0, 6-2 to set up a last-four showdown with American third seed Coco Gauff, the player she beat in the 2022 Roland Garros final.
World No. 1 Swiatek improved her career record in Paris to 33-2 and is on course to become the first woman to lift the Coupe Suzanne Lenglen three years in a row since Justine Henin from 2005 to 2007.
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