Three-time Wimbledon champion Novak Djokovic says he “doesn’t know if I am going to play on grass” after losing in the French Open quarter-finals.

Djokovic was beaten 6-3 7-6 (7-4) 1-6 7-6 (13-11) by Italy’s world number 72 Marco Cecchinato in Paris on Tuesday.

An elbow injury has limited the 12-time Grand Slam champion’s playing time this year, while he was treated on his neck during the defeat by Cecchinato.

The 31-year-old Serb said he did not “want to talk about tennis right now”.

It could mean Djokovic misses Wimbledon, which starts on 2 July.

• Unseeded Cecchinato stuns Djokovic
• Thiem beats injured Zverev to reach semi-finals
• How many multiple French Open winners can you name?
• Live scores, schedule and results

Djokovic’s defeat by Cecchinato, who had never won a Grand Slam match until Roland Garros, means he has not reached a semi-final of a major since the 2016 US Open.

He has dropped to 22nd in the rankings – his lowest since October 2006 – after a year which has been disrupted by injury.

The former world number one decided to take time off after retiring from his Wimbledon quarter-final against Tomas Berdych last summer with an elbow injury.

He did not play again until January, when he reached the last 16 of the Australian Open, but then needed a “minor procedure” on the same elbow after losing to Hyeon Chung, ruling him out for two months.

After returning at Indian Wells in March, Djokovic made slow progress in terms of results before warming up for Roland Garros with a run to the Rome quarter-finals.

He has spoken this week about building up his form in order to peak at the Grand Slams and appeared to be doing precisely that when he demolished 30th seed Fernando Verdasco in straight sets in the fourth round.

But Djokovic was shocked to fall at the last-eight stage in Paris.

“Any defeat is difficult in the Grand Slams, especially the one that came from months of build-up,” he said during a spiky news conference which, unusually, took place only about 15 minutes after his defeat.

“I thought I had a great chance to get at least a step further, but wasn’t to be.”

Asked if he was back, Djokovic was blunt.

“I am back in the locker room. That’s where I’m back,” he said.

Djokovic, whose 20th seeding was his lowest at a Slam since the 2006 US Open, has lost in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros for the second successive year.

These defeats have followed his victory in 2016 which sealed a career Grand Slam – only the eighth man to have achieved the feat – and meant he held all four majors at the same time.

This defeat will really sting – analysis

BBC tennis correspondent Russell Fuller in Paris

Djokovic left Court Suzanne Lenglen and headed straight for the news conference room: not the main one, which has become his natural home, but the secondary one, which was lacking an official microphone and did not have nearly enough room for those wishing to attend.

His comments about the grass season were made in the heat of the moment, but this defeat will really sting.

It is a reminder that for all his progress in recent weeks, he is still a shadow of the man who had won six of the previous eight Grand Slams when he won the title here in 2016.

And, physically, Djokovic still has concerns. The elbow he had minor surgery on after the Australian Open seems much improved, but he once again needed treatment on the shoulder that has caused him intermittent trouble over the past couple of years.

One of the all-time greats

• Djokovic became the eighth man in history to win all four Grand Slam events by winning his first Roland Garros title in 2016, defeating Andy Murray in the final
• It was his 12th Grand Slam crown – to add to his six Australian Open triumphs, three Wimbledon titles and two US Open wins
• It also meant Djokovic held all four Grand Slam titles at the same time following wins at Wimbledon and the US Open in 2015, the 2016 Australian Open and then at Roland Garros
• He lost the 2016 US Open final – his last appearance in a Grand Slam final

• Alerts: Get tennis news sent to your phone

Britain’s Dan Evans progressed to the second round of the Surbiton Trophy, but British number two Heather Watson suffered a surprise defeat.

Top seed Watson was knocked out of the grass-court tournament by fellow Briton Gabriella Taylor, ranked 104 places below her, losing 3-6 6-4 6-3.

Former top-50 player Evans continued his return from a drugs ban by beating Italy’s Thomas Fabbiano 6-4 7-5.

British number four Liam Broady lost to French top seed Jeremy Chardy.

Broady went down 7-6 (10-8) 6-3, before James Ward was defeated 4-6 6-3 6-3 by Ukraine’s Sergiy Stakhovsky.

There were victories in the women’s event for Britons Katie Boulter, Katy Dunne, Katie Swan and Harriet Dart.

Novak Djokovic is out of the French Open after Italy’s Marco Cecchinato beat him to reach the semi-finals in a huge shock in Paris.

Djokovic, 31, saved three match points and missed three set points before the world number 72 finally won 6-3 7-6 (7-4) 1-6 7-6 (13-11).

Cecchinato, 25, had never won a main-draw match at a Grand Slam before this year’s Roland Garros.

He will face Austria’s Dominic Thiem in the last four.

Their meeting on Friday means there is guaranteed to be at least one first-time Slam finalist.

Seventh seed Thiem reached his third Roland Garros semi-final with a straight-set win against Germany’s second seed Alexander Zverev, who also struggled with injury.

Cecchinato, who was banned for match-fixing in 2016 before having the suspension overturned, is the first Italian man to reach a Grand Slam semi-final since 1978.

He is also the lowest-ranked player to reach this stage at Roland Garros since world number 100 Andrei Medvedev in 1999.

Cecchinato knocked out eighth seed David Goffin and 10th seed Pablo Carreno Busta in previous rounds, and said the achievement had “changed his life”.

“Maybe I’m sleeping. It’s amazing, it’s unbelievable for me. I’m very happy because it’s unbelievable to beat Novak Djokovic in a quarter-final at Roland Garros,” he added.

And on the winning match point, he said: “When I saw my return hit the line it was the best moment of my life.”

• Djokovic unsure over playing Wimbledon
• Thiem beats injured Zverev to reach semis
• Keys & Stephens to meet in semi-final
• Live scores, schedule and results

Djokovic falls in Roland Garros classic

Djokovic had been building momentum at Roland Garros over the past 10 days, dropping just one set on his way to a joint record 12th quarter-final – even though he had not been considered among the pre-tournament favourites.

An elbow injury has limited his playing time over the past year, seeing him drop down the world rankings to 22nd and he received a lowly seeding in Paris as a result.

Still, few saw this defeat coming against a outsider who the Serb had regularly practised with at home in Monte Carlo.

In their first tour-level meeting, Djokovic was the overwhelming favourite to reach his first Grand Slam semi-final since the 2016 US Open.

But he paid the price for a slow start in which he hit only three winners in the first set and failed to make a dent on Cecchinato’s serve.

Eventually he began to improve as a compelling quarter-final turned into the best match of the tournament so far.

Ultimately, Djokovic missed opportunities at key moments – particularly in that deciding tie-break – and leaves some wondering if the former world number one will ever return to the heights of his previous dominance.

“Marco played amazing and credit to him. Congratulations for a great performance,” Djokovic said.

“I struggled from the beginning. Unfortunately, it took me time to get going, and I struggled with a little injury at the beginning.

“It is a pity that I couldn’t capitalise on the chances at 4-1 in the fourth set and some break points that I thought I had in there.”

Cecchinato celebrates biggest win of his life

Before his run at Roland Garros, Cecchinato was a player who many tennis fans had only previously heard of because of an 18-month ban he received in 2016 for match-fixing.

It was later reduced to 12 months and then completely overturned – allowing him to continue playing on the ATP Tour.

He has refused to talk about the issue at Roland Garros, instead preferring to concentrate on the tennis – which, at times, was stunning against Djokovic.

The Italian showed flashes of shot-making brilliance and plenty of dogged defence to take a two sets to love lead – after saving three set points before winning the second-set tie-break.

But, as Djokovic grew into the match, Cecchinato started to lose rhythm and focus – receiving a penalty point at the start of the fourth set for going off court without permission.

Djokovic won 11 of 14 games from the start of the third set before Cecchinato somehow regained his composure to break back in the fourth set and take it into a tie-break.

The drama did not end there.

It was a breaker which had everything: missed match points, missed set points, and the stunning fluctuations left the Court Suzanne Lenglen crowd gasping in excitement.

The ebb and flow meant the outcome was impossible to predict, Cecchinato eventually sealing the biggest win of his life with a backhand return winner that left Djokovic standing.

He fell to the clay in exhilaration, spreading both arms across the red dirt in celebration.

Austrian seventh seed Dominic Thiem reached the French Open semi-finals for the third successive year with a straight-set win over an injured Alexander Zverev.

Thiem, 24, won 6-4 6-2 6-1 against the German second seed.

Zverev, 21, struggled with a hamstring injury from midway through the second set, needing treatment and heavy strapping before continuing.

But he cut a forlorn figure as Thiem triumphed in one hour and 50 minutes.

Thiem will meet either 12-time Grand Slam champion Novak Djokovic or Italy’s Marco Cecchinato in the last four.

• Djokovic v Cecchinato – text updates
• Live scores, schedule and results
• Keys into maiden French Open semi-final

Zverev injury ruins highly anticipated contest

Zverev and Thiem have long been identified as the two younger players most likely to threaten Rafael Nadal’s dominance on clay.

Zverev is the leading player on the ATP Tour this year, having earned more ranking points and won more matches than anyone else.

Thiem’s preparations for Roland Garros were boosted by winning a tour title in Lyon, moving him clear of Nadal as the leading man on clay – in terms of number of matches won – this year.

So it was a quarter-final greeted with much intrigue and excitement as both men looked to move a step closer to a potential first Grand Slam title.

Unfortunately the match-up was ruined as a contest when Zverev, playing his first Grand Slam quarter-final, pulled his left hamstring midway through the second set.

Zverev had spent almost two and a half hours more on court than Thiem in his run to the last eight, having needed five sets to come through each of his previous three matches.

That appeared to have an effect on the German as he made a slow start in the first and then pulled up in the second.

He decided to carry on, but looked nothing like the player who had been tipped by some to win Roland Garros.

He won just four points as Thiem raced 4-0 ahead, fighting back briefly by earning a break point at 4-1, but losing serve again in the next game as Thiem advanced with a trademark backhand winner.

Time for Thiem to step up

Thiem lost in the Roland Garros semi-finals to Novak Djokovic in 2016 and Nadal last year, acknowledging before his match against Zverev it is “time to make a great step” from being labelled as a future champion to actually winning a major title.

Unlike Zverev, he has never won a Masters title but is hoping to go one further by emulating compatriot Thomas Muster to become the second Austrian man to win Roland Garros.

And he showed signs of his pedigree in an impressive first set.

Thiem dominated his service games, dropping only six points on it, while taking the only break point of the opener with a stunning cross-court backhand.

Although Thiem’s one-handed backhand is regarded as his most potent shot, winners were coming from both sides before he clinched the set with an ace out wide.

However, he did not have to be at his best during the next two sets as his good friend Zverev struggled.

“He is one of the fittest guys on tour but even for him it is tough to play three five-setters in a row,” said Thiem.

“I hope we have more matches at this stage of a Grand Slam – or even later – and we are both 100%. It will be nicer for everybody.”

A tough match to watch – analysis

Great Britain Davis Cup captain Leon Smith

Zverev is a popular figure, he’s had an incredible year but it wasn’t really a match. He looked very tired and jaded in the first set and then obviously struggled with his hamstring. It was pretty tough to watch when you see Zverev looking so flat. No doubt there was some mental fatigue as well from playing so many five-set matches.

Thiem won in one hour and 50 minutes and will be fresh in the semi-finals.

• Alerts: Get tennis news sent to your phone