Djokovic and Sinner chase French Open semis as underdogs look for upsets

New Straits Times

3 days ago

PARIS: Big names Jannik Sinner and Novak Djokovic will both be chasing semi-final berths at the French Open on Wednesday, but the spotlight will fall on home hope Loïs Boisson in the women's draw.
French wildcard Boisson, ranked 361st in the world, takes on Russian sixth seed Mirra Andreeva with a chance to write her own chapter in French tennis history.
Granted a wildcard entry into the tournament, the 22-year-old kept home hopes alive by battling past US third seed Jessica Pegula to reach the quarter-finals.
"Obviously, it's a dream to begin with. I hope to go further," said the player from Dijon.
"This is my favourite surface. As soon as the clay season starts, it's when I feel best and happiest."
Second seed Coco Gauff will face seventh seed Madison Keys in an all-American quarter-final, both hoping to join world number one Aryna Sabalenka and three-time defending champion Iga Świątek, who are already through to the semi-finals in the other half of the draw.
Djokovic is set to compete in a record 19th French Open quarter-final against last year's runner-up, Alexander Zverev.
The German third seed is well-rested after his last-16 opponent, Tallon Griekspoor, retired on Monday with an abdominal injury while trailing 6-4, 3-0.
Zverev, who lost to Carlos Alcaraz in last year's final, continues his latest bid for a maiden Grand Slam title after three previous runner-up finishes.
"For me, Carlos is the favourite. Then I would say the next three in line are Jannik, myself, and Novak, right? I still believe that," said Zverev, who could face world number one Sinner in the semi-finals.
Zverev has reached at least the semi-finals at the past four French Opens and is contesting his seventh quarter-final at Roland Garros.
The 28-year-old has won five of his 13 career matches against Djokovic, including their semi-final in Melbourne this January, when the Serb retired injured.
Djokovic, a three-time champion in Paris, is just the second player to record 100 wins at Roland Garros, after 14-time winner Rafael Nadal (112).
"It's a very pretty number, but 101 victories sounds better," said 38-year-old Djokovic, who has reached the quarter-finals at the clay-court major for a 16th consecutive year.
"I will continue to search for another victory – it's clearly not over for me here. I'm very honoured to make history in this sport, which has given me everything in life."
World number six Djokovic is chasing a record 25th major title and currently holds a 100–16 record at Roland Garros.
Italian Sinner will take on unseeded Kazakh Alexander Bublik, who described his emotional four-set win over fifth seed Jack Draper in the last 16 as the "best moment of his life."
Sinner leads the 62nd-ranked Bublik 3–1 in previous meetings.
Neither Sinner nor Djokovic has dropped a set so far.
The Italian reached the semi-finals last year, losing a five-set thriller to Spain's Alcaraz.
Australian Open champion Keys will face Gauff, against whom she holds a 3–2 head-to-head record, having won their only clay meeting in Madrid last year.
"It feels great to be back in the quarters here. I'm really happy with how I played today and hopefully can keep going," said Gauff, who has tallied 15 wins on clay this season.
Former US Open champion Gauff credits her success on clay to her belief that she can turn any match around, regardless of the score.
She is hoping it will be third time lucky at Roland Garros, after losing finals in Madrid and Rome last month.
Gauff reached her first Grand Slam final in Paris in 2022, aged just 18.
"I remember meeting Coco for the first time, and in my head she was, like, nine years old," joked 30-year-old Keys, who won her maiden Grand Slam title in Melbourne in January.
"And just watching her play, I knew she was going to be someone who would become pretty dominant, pretty quickly."