French Open 2017: Andy Murray beats Kei Nishikori in quarter-finals

Britain’s Andy Murray reached his fourth consecutive French Open semi-final with a four-set win over Kei Nishikori in Paris.

The world number one came through 2-6 6-1 7-6 (7-0) 6-1 against the Japanese eighth seed at Roland Garros.

The 30-year-old goes on to face Swiss third seed Stan Wawrinka, who beat Marin Cilic 6-3 6-3 6-1.

It is a repeat of last year’s semi-final, which Murray won in four sets before going on to lose in the final.

“Stan has played fantastic this tournament so far,” said the Scot, who was beaten by Novak Djokovic in last year’s showpiece.

“Last year when we met he was playing very well and I had to play one of my best matches on clay to beat him.

“It’s not always been easy for me here but the last few years have been great.”

Nine-time champion Rafael Nadal will take on Dominic Thiem in the second semi-final, after the Austrian knocked out defending champion Djokovic.

• Relive how Murray beat Nishikori
• Djokovic out as Nadal progresses to semi-finals
• Halep and Pliskova set up last-four clash
• Live scores and schedule

Nishikori fades after fast start

After impressive wins in the previous two rounds, Murray claimed another fine result, albeit in less clinical fashion.

The pair shared 12 breaks of serve on another blustery Paris day, with Nishikori starting superbly but fading as Murray reeled him in.

Nishikori, 27, broke serve twice to take the first set as his groundstrokes had Murray constantly on the defensive.

Murray’s mood was not improved by an early time violation from umpire Carlos Ramos, but it took another in the second set to fire up the top seed.

The Briton remonstrated with the official before returning to the action, fired by injustice, roaring “Let’s go!” as he clinched the game.

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McEnroe questions Djokovic desire after French Open exit

John McEnroe described Novak Djokovic’s final-set capitulation at the French Open as “inexplicable” and questioned the 12-time Grand Slam winner’s desire.

The defending champion, 30, lost 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 6-0 to Austria’s Dominic Thiem – losing a love set at a Slam for the first time since 2005.

The Serb is now without a major title after holding all four 12 months ago.

“I don’t recall seeing a time in the last six to eight years when Novak mailed it in,” McEnroe told BBC Sport.

The American, a seven-time Grand Slam singles champion, added: “He basically gave up.”

• Djokovic out as Nadal progresses to semi-finals
• Relive Djokovic’s defeat against Thiem
• Live scores and schedule

Djokovic won just eight points and made 12 errors in the final set of his quarter-final, which lasted 20 minutes.

It was only the ninth time he had lost a set to love in his career, and the first at a Grand Slam since he played Gael Monfils at the US Open 12 years ago.

“It looked in the third set like he just didn’t want to be out there, couldn’t compete any more, and that’s shocking for a guy that’s won as much as he has and prides himself on competition,” added 58-year-old McEnroe.

“It just shows you everyone’s human.

“On paper it was the most interesting quarter but to see it tail off like that is highly surprising.

“If you had told me a year ago, when he was the only guy since Rod Laver holding all four Slams that this is what we’d be talking about now, I’d have told you you were nuts.”

Twelve months on from completing the career Grand Slam in Paris, Djokovic will drop out of the world’s top two for the first time since 2011 in the next rankings.

“For me, it’s a whole new situation that I’m facing,” the Serb said.

“Especially in the last seven, eight months, not winning any tournament, which hasn’t happened in many years.

“I guess you’ve got to go through it, try to learn your lessons and figure out how to get out of it stronger.

“It’s a big challenge, but I’m up for it.”

The 12-time Grand Slam champion alluded to “personal issues” following his shock third-round defeat by Sam Querrey at Wimbledon last year, and injuries then contributed to a drop in form.

Djokovic parted company with coach Boris Becker at the end of 2016 and then the rest of his coaching team, including his long-time confidante Marian Vajda, last month in what he described as “shock therapy”.

He has since been working with Spaniard Pepe Imaz, a former world number 146 who runs a tennis academy based around “peace, love and meditation”, as well as his brother, Marko, a former professional.

“Obviously there have been issues off the court,” said McEnroe. “I don’t know exactly what they’ve been but that’s affected him.

“There’s a let-down [after completing the career Grand Slam] and that’s understandable when you think about it, after you’ve accomplished that you probably have some motivation problems.

“There’s been, I’m assuming, some type of injury issues.

“But all in all, I can’t believe that he seems so lost right now compared to what we saw when he was on top of the world.”

Eight-time Grand Slam champion Andre Agassi was added to the team in Paris, although the American was only present for the first three rounds because of prior engagements elsewhere.

“Don’t put Andre in the midst of this,” Djokovic said. “This final set, of course, that’s all me.

“His influence and impact on my game, it’s going to take time.

“It’s not something that comes out in the first week. We have spent seven days together. We just got to know each other.”

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French Open 2017: John McEnroe says Novak Djokovic "gave up" in loss to Dominic Thiem

Former world number one John McEnroe says defending champion Novak Djokovic “gave up” during his straight-sets French Open quarter-final defeat by Dominic Thiem.

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Djokovic knocked out of French Open as Nadal goes through

Defending champion Novak Djokovic is out of the French Open following a straight-sets defeat by Dominic Thiem.

The Serbian second seed was second best throughout to powerful-hitting Thiem, losing 7-6 (7-5) 6-3 6-0 in Paris.

It is the Austrian sixth seed’s first victory over Djokovic and he will now play Rafael Nadal in the last four.

Nadal reached the semis after fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta withdrew from their match with an abdominal injury while trailing 6-2 2-0.

Fourth seed Nadal is aiming to win a record 10th title at Roland Garros having become just the fifth man to reach 10 semi-finals at a single Grand Slam in the Open era.

Both matches were delayed from Tuesday because of rain.

Djokovic relinquishes the last of his Grand Slam titles

In 2016, Djokovic won the French Open title to become the first man since 1969 to hold all four grand slam titles at the same time.

Since then, he has lost in the third round at Wimbledon, suffered defeat in the US Open final, and lost in round two at the Australian Open. He has now failed to progress past the last eight in Paris for the first time since 2010.

“The last couple of tournaments I have had some great tournaments and it was unfortunate to finish Roland Garros in this way,” said Djokovic.

“This is a whole new situation for me, not winning a big tournament for eight or nine months – this hasn’t happened for a while.

“All the top players have gone through that and I guess I have to learn lessons and figure how get through. It is a big challenge and I’m up for it.”

He was unable to cope with the power of Thiem, who hit 38 winners – 20 from his dominant forehand – in total to Djokovic’s 18.

The match was a total reversal of the last time the two met, when Thiem managed to win just a single game three weeks ago in Rome.

Thiem demonstrated his appetite for the fight in a brutally physical first set lasting 73 minutes, which Djokovic led 4-2 but a double-fault handed a break back before three terrible backhands gave his opponent the tie-break.

Djokovic’s mental and physical vulnerability was then ruthlessly exposed as Thiem took the second before emphatically sealing the third to love to take the match.

It was first time Djokovic has lost a set to love at a Grand Slam since the US Open in 2005.

“The third set, obviously, nothing was going my way and everything his way. It was a pretty bad set,” added Djokovic. “I think it was decided in the first set, I tried but I lost a crucial break at the start of the second set.

“He deserved to win, he was definitely the better player on the court.”

Nadal brings up his clay century

Tournament favourite Nadal, 31, has won the French Open title on each of the nine previous occasions he has advanced past the quarter-finals.

He has now recorded 100 best-of-five-sets victories on clay from just 102 matches, with his only defeats coming at Roland Garros, to Robin Soderling in the round of 16 in 2009 and Djokovic in the 2015 quarter-finals.

Nadal has also dropped just 22 games through five matches in Paris, bettering his previous low of 25 en route to the last four in 2008.

He broke Carreno Busta four times to take the first set, at the end of which the world number 21 needed a lengthy break to have treatment and bandaging applied to his stomach.

Carreno Busta lasted just two games of the second set before retiring to extend Nadal’s French Open record to an incredible 77 wins and just two losses.

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Andy Murray vs Kei Nishikori French Open 2017 Preview and Prediction

Andy Murray might have come into the French Open in awful form for a World No. 1 but he has at least reversed that to some extent…

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Harrison/Venus Reach Roland Garros SFs

Harrison/Venus Reach Roland Garros SFs

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Preview: Wednesday's Roland Garros QFs

Preview: Wednesday's Roland Garros QFs

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Andy Murray set for French Open quarter-final against Kei Nishikori

Andy Murray will look to make amends for last year’s US Open defeat when he takes on Kei Nishikori in the French Open quarter-finals on Wednesday.

Murray and Nishikori will meet on Court Philippe Chatrier at around 15:00 BST.

The Briton, 30, lost a dramatic five-set contest when they met at the same stage in New York last September.

Surprisingly, the Japanese player struggled to even recall the match when asked on Monday: “I don’t even know if I won or lost. I won?”

• Nadal and Djokovic matches postponed
• Ostapenko shocks Wozniacki in last eight

It was only his second win over Murray, who has since taken his tally to eight victories having beaten Nishikori in the Davis Cup, Olympics and ATP Finals in 2016.

After a slow start to 2017 as he struggled with injuries and illness, the world number one has found his form at Roland Garros.

Impressive wins over Juan Martin del Potro and Karen Khachanov in the last two rounds have suggested Murray is capable of matching last year’s run to the final.

“I’m happy with where my game’s at,” the Scot said after his fourth-round win.

“Everything is going pretty well just now. I’m feeling good going into the middle part of the second week.”

And the Wimbledon champion does at least remember his New York defeat last year, which came three weeks after he won Olympic gold in Rio.

“I obviously lost against him at the US Open,” Murray said. “He plays well on the clay, obviously, and is very solid off both wings.”

If Murray has had his health issues in 2017, Nishikori has struggled with injuries throughout his career, a right wrist hampering him this season after hip and rib problems in 2016.

The 27-year-old Japanese player has already played one five-set match in Paris and twice lost sets 6-0.

However, he has only spent 20 minutes more on court than Murray, at 11 hours and 24 minutes, and says he will be ready after a day off.

“I think physically, I’m OK,” Nishikori said.

“It’s not easy. Long matches. I’m a little bit sore, but I’m sure it’s going to be okay. I have one day rest [on Tuesday].

“I’ll try to be physically ready for a long, tough match.”

Analysis

BBC Sport tennis correspondent Russell Fuller at Roland Garros

Murray has an excellent record against Nishikori, but will still have vivid memories of the defeat he suffered at last year’s US Open.

The Japanese won the deciding set of their quarter-final 7-5: Murray had led by two sets to one but became distracted by a malfunctioning sound system and a yellow butterfly.

Nishikori has had a more gruelling passage to the last eight: he has twice lost a set 6-0, appears hindered by back trouble and will need to play as he did in New York to topple the rapidly improving world number one.

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French Open 2017: Jelena Ostapenko shocks Caroline Wozniacki

Unseeded Latvian Jelena Ostapenko became the first teenager to reach the French Open women’s semi-finals since 2007 with a shock win against former world number one Caroline Wozniacki.

The 19-year-old lost the first five games of her first major quarter-final before winning 4-6 6-2 6-2.

She will play Swiss 30th seed Timea Bacsinszky, who beat France’s Kristina Mladenovic 6-4 6-4.

“I’m really happy, I can’t believe it,” world number 47 Ostapenko said.

• Wide-open women’s draw is ‘land of opportunity’ – Davenport
• Live scores and schedule

Ostapenko will meet 27-year-old Bacsinszky in their semi-final on Thursday – when both players celebrate their birthdays.

The pair eventually won their quarter-final matches after torrential rain disrupted the first two women’s last-eight ties in Paris.

Two rain delays – totalling almost four hours – meant Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic’s French Open quarter-finals were postponed until Wednesday.

Ostapenko is the first teenager to reach the Roland Garros semi-finals since Serbia’s Ana Ivanovic and the first to book a place in a Grand Slam semi-final since American Madison Keys at the 2015 US Open.

“It was tough because we had to go away two times from the court,” Ostapenko said.

“Caroline is a tough opponent, I knew I had to stay aggressive, I lost it sometimes but I found my game.”

Wozniacki’s wait goes on in wide-open draw

With pregnant Serena Williams missing and a number of notable early exits, a first-time Grand Slam women’s singles champion will be crowned in Paris.

Wozniacki, 26, boasted the best pedigree of the eight players left in the draw, and was tipped by some observers to win her first major title.

The Dane ended the year as world number one in 2010 and 2011 and has reached two US Open finals without success.

The gulf in experience between Wozniacki, who was competing in her eighth Grand Slam quarter-final, and Ostapenko was huge.

The Latvian looked a little nervous as Wozniacki eased into a 5-0 lead in the first set, but pegged her back to 5-4 before Wozniacki broke her serve for a third time to clinch the opener.

Ostapenko took only two of 11 break points in the first set, but was more clinical when the chances continued to come in the second set.

Both players again struggled to hold their serve, exchanging breaks before Ostapenko rattled off three games in a row to lead 5-2.

Ostapenko served out for the set after the first three-hour rain delay, and then grew in confidence in the decider as Wozniacki wobbled.

Ostapenko broke her serve in the fifth game, going on to win the final five games to become the first Latvian women to reach a Grand Slam semi-final in the Open Era.

Bacsinszky ends French dream

After beating defending champion Garbine Muguruza in the previous round, the home fans had hoped Mladenovic could end France’s 17-year wait for a home winner at Roland Garros.

Both players struggled in the blustery conditions in the first part of the match but the French 24-year-old in particular lacked the intensity and power of her Muguruza win.

Mladenovic fought off a break point immediately after the first rain delay at the start of the second set, and broke serve in the following game, but Bacsinszky came back to win in one hour 49 minutes on court.

The win puts the 27-year-old Swiss into the French Open semi-finals for the second time, having been beaten in the last four by Serena Williams in 2015.

Bacsinszky almost quit tennis under the pressure of what she called a “control freak” father in 2013 but is now a win away from her first Grand Slam final.

Analysis

Russell Fuller, BBC tennis correspondent at Roland Garros:

“The rain delays – one of which lasted over three hours – did Mladenovic no favours. She loves to work the crowd and after a sequence of emotional and narrow victories in earlier rounds, it all fell a bit flat on the Philippe Chatrier Court.

“Much of that was down to Bacsinszky, who was the superior player, and now a semi-finalist for the second time in three years.

“Ostapenko was magnificent in the other completed quarter-final. She makes a lot of unforced errors, but hit 38 winners to Wozniacki’s six as she coped so well with her first taste of a Grand Slam quarter-final.”

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Nadal & Djokovic matches moved to Wednesday

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic’s French Open quarter-finals were postponed until Wednesday following torrential rain in Paris.

The women’s quarter-finals were interrupted twice before Latvian Jelena Ostapenko and Swiss Timea Bacsinszky booked their semi-final places.

As a result of Tuesday’s downpours, officials decided to reschedule the first two men’s quarter-finals.

That means all four men’s last-eight matches will be played on Wednesday.

Fourth seed Nadal meets fellow Spaniard Pablo Carreno Busta as he aims to move a step closer to a record 10th title at Roland Garros.

Twelve-time Grand Slam winner Djokovic, who is seeded second, plays Austrian sixth seed Dominic Thiem.

World number one Andy Murray faces Japan’s eighth seed Kei Nishikori, while Swiss third seed Stan Wawrinka – the 2015 champion – takes on Croatian seventh seed Marin Cilic.

The remaining women’s quarter-finals are also scheduled for Wednesday.

Czech second seed Karolina Pliskova plays France’s Caroline Garcia, while 2014 finalist Simona Halep – the Romanian third seed – faces Ukraine’s fifth seed Elina Svitolina.

• Wide-open women’s draw is ‘land of opportunity’ – Davenport

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