IMAGES from the French Open, at Roland Garros, Paris, France, on Wednesday.
Three-time champion Novak Djokovic kept up his quest for a record-breaking 25th Grand Slam title, battling past third seed Alexander Zverev 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 on Wednesday, to set up a French Open semi-final against top seed Jannik Sinner.
The 38-year-old Serbian notched his 101st victory at Roland Garros, site of his Olympic gold medal victory last year at the Paris Games, after three hours and 17 minutes.
Former world number one Djokovic is just two matches away from becoming the first player, male or female, to win 25 Grand Slam singles trophies.
Earlier on Wednesday, Sinner booked his spot in the last four with a straight sets win over Kazakh Alexander Bublik.
"Obviously there was a lot of tension, pressure but it is normal when you play against Zverev, one of the best in the world, in the last five-six years," Djokovic said in a post-match interview.
"My game is based on a lot of running. I am 38 years old, it is not easy to keep running like that but, okay, it works."
"A match like the one this evening is the biggest reason why I continue playing and competing at this level," he said.
Zverev, last year's finalist who is still searching for a maiden Grand Slam title, started out strongly and broke Djokovic in the very first game.
Attempting to join the Serb, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer as the only men in the Open Era to reach French Open semi-finals in five consecutive years, the German held on to that advantage to earn the first set.
Knowing he could not match his 28-year-old opponent for fitness, Djokovic tried to keep the rallies as short as possible, playing more and more drop shots -- 35 in total -- to force the tall Zverev to the net.
Djokovic broke his opponent at 2-1 in the second set and was quickly 4-1 up before Zverev had any time to react. He secured the second set with yet another drop shot.
The veteran then broke Zverev twice more to bag the third set with his opponent running out of steam, lacking accuracy and having no clear plan B.
Another break at the very start of the fourth set put Djokovic 2-0 up and firmly on the winning track before he wrapped it up on his fifth match point to reach a record-extending 51st Grand Slam semi-final.
Sinner breezes past Bublik
World No 1 Jannik Sinner continued his relentless pursuit of a maiden French Open title with a typically efficient 6-1, 7-5, 6-0 win over Kazakh showman Alexander Bublik on Wednesday, to reach the semi-finals.
The near-flawless victory ensured Sinner became the first Italian man to make six Grand Slam semi-finals and extended his winning run at the majors to 19 matches after his triumphs at last year's US Open and the Australian Open in January.
"I'm very happy with how I've arrived in the semi-finals. The semi-finals in Grand Slams are very special, I'm looking forward to it," Sinner said.
The retraction of Court Philippe Chatrier's roof after a cold, rainy morning signalled the opening of the floodgates as Sinner raced into a 5-0 lead before Bublik got on the board and immediately threatened to break the top seed.
Sinner snuffed out his challenge to win the first set with ease but the 23-year-old ran into trouble in the next set when Bublik pulled out trademark drop shots from his bag of tricks and worked his opponent harder to stay level after 10 games.
"We've played each other a couple of times already, so we already knew what to expect a little bit. But, in other aspects, you never know how he is going to play," Sinner added.
"I feel like he deserved to be in this quarter-final ... I tried to focus on my side of the court. I was trying to play as solid as possible because he can have some ups and downs, so I just needed to stay consistent throughout the whole match."
Bublik's untimely dip allowed Sinner to pounce and the three-times Grand Slam champion broke before holding comfortably to stop the brave comeback of his 62nd-ranked opponent and double his advantage in the match.
The one-way traffic resumed in the third set, where Bublik hit a failed underarm serve while trying to avoid going a double break down, before Sinner tightened his grip to book a clash with Alexander Zverev or Novak Djokovic.
"We'll watch a little bit of it for sure," Sinner said. "As always, I'll also try to switch my brain off because Grand Slams are always mentally tough. We all hope for a high-quality match, that's what is important and what the fans want."
Error-prone Gauff sees off erratic Keys
Coco Gauff huffed and puffed into the French Open semi-finals with a 6-7(6), 6-4, 6-1 victory against fellow American Madison Keys in a match both players will be quick to forget as they broke the 100-unforced errors barrier on Wednesday.
More than half of Gauff's points came from Australian Open champion Keys' soft mistakes and the world number two got away with a total of 10 double faults.
The 21-year-old will need to make dramatic adjustments when she faces either France's Lois Boisson or Russian sixth seed Mirra Andreeva for a place in Sunday's final.
Keys, who was looking to reach the last four at Roland Garros for the second time after 2018, bowed out with her 60th unforced error to end a forgettable contest.
"I'm happy to get through this match today, I have a lot more work to do, I'll be ready tomorrow," Gauff said.
"I changed something at 4-1 (in the first set). It's tough to play against her because she hits the ball so fast, so low, I was just trying to fight for every point... to get the ball to the other side of the net."
Gauff, who reached the final here in 2022, is the youngest woman to claim 25 main-draw wins at Roland Garros since Martina Hingis (1995-2000).
The opening set was a scrappy affair, with the first three games going against serve.
Keys secured the first hold to lead 3-1 and broke again before Gauff clawed back a break and held for the first time to close the gap to 4-3.
In a flurry of breaks, Gauff levelled at 4-4 and held once more to edge ahead, putting the pressure on Keys, who saved a set point to force a tiebreak.
While the quality was patchy at best, the drama was undeniable, with momentum swinging wildly. In the end, Keys edged the tiebreak as Gauff double-faulted three times, handing the opener to her opponent.
Things did not get better in the second set.
"So many unforced errors," Gauff said on court, in one of the understatements of the season.
She levelled the contest as Keys looked out of sorts and cantered through the decider.
Teen Andreeva dumped out by wild card
Lois Boisson sent the Roland Garros faithful into a state of euphoria on Wednesday, conjuring the unimaginable as she toppled Russian wunderkind Mirra Andreeva 7-6(6), 6-3 to reach the French Open semi-finals.
In her maiden Grand Slam main draw appearance, granted via a wild card, the world No. 361 became the first Frenchwoman to reach the Roland Garros last four since Marion Bartoli in 2011 — and she did it in style.
In a bleak year for French women’s tennis, with just one player inside the top 100, the 22-year-old Boisson — sidelined from last year’s tournament by a serious knee injury — stunned world number three Jessica Pegula in the fourth round before ousting the baby-faced but battle-hardened 18-year-old Andreeva, the world number six.
Next up? A clash with world number two Coco Gauff for a place in Saturday's final.
"It’s incredible. Thank you for supporting me like this -- I have no words," Boisson told a delirious home crowd that chanted her name, roared at every point, and turned against Andreeva when the Russian’s frustrations boiled over.
“I ran a bit too much because I was so tense early on,” she admitted. “But I fought hard in that first set, which was so intense. At the start of the second, I felt a little empty, but I hung in there and finished the job.”
Andreeva, a semi-finalist in Paris last year, entered as the heavy favourite.
She looked to be cruising when she raced to a 3-1 lead under the closed roof on Court Philippe Chatrier. But Boisson refused to blink, point-by-point clawing her way back.
It was Andreeva who had to dig deep to stay alive, surviving a 14-minute game at 5-6 and saving three set points before forcing a tiebreak.
Even then, Boisson hung tough, recovering from 0-2, saving a set point, and snatching the set when an increasingly rattled Andreeva sent a forehand just wide.
After an exhausting 68-minute opening set, Andreeva regrouped to go 3-0 up in the second.
But once again, Boisson scrapped her way level as Andreeva cracked, earning a warning for ball abuse after launching a ball into the stands in frustration.
Boisson, locked in her bubble, broke for 4-3, triggering yet another deafening ovation. A gritty hold followed, as she saved two break points, before the Russian crumbled on serve.
As match point landed, Boisson collapsed onto the clay, then rose with arms aloft, her face streaked with terre battue and emotion.
On her right arm, a simple tattoo: RESILIENCE.
© 2025