PARIS – For the 41-stroke, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev came and went in a key rally in the fourth set of France’s Open Quarter Final on Wednesday.
After hitting the forehand winner, Djokovic then breathed hard with his hips in his hand, scanning standing ovations from thousands of Philip Chatelier audiences.
No. 6 seed Djokovic, 38, proved too much for the third seeded Seedzbelev, 10 years younger and runner-up at Roland Garos last year, scoring 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 on Friday to set up a semi-final showdown against No. 1 Jannik Sinner.
The 41-stroke definition rally arrived for more than two and a half hours of the match. Djokovic took a 3-2 lead, but Zverev had a breakpoint and a chance to return to Wednesday’s game.
Djokovic won the game to score a 4-2 lead in the fourth set after erasing breakpoints.
He may have thrown three losing skids this season, slipping into sixth place in the rankings. What remains unchanged is Djokovic’s determination or his ability to be his best on a big stage. And now he has won two in his record 25th Grand Slam title.
Friday brings an appetizing showdown between Djokovic, a top player in tennis history, and a player who considers sinners, the player currently at the top of the male game. Djokovic and the sinner are tied 4-4 in the head-to-head series, but Thinner, who hasn’t lost a set at this French open, won the final three matchups.
No one has been ranked number one in the rankings as Djokovic. After becoming the second oldest man in Paris, no one has won more major championships or reached the major semi-finals than his total, now 51 years old.
