Djokovic fights off 4 match points to keep Grand Slam run alive
PARIS. June 6. KAZINFORM Four times, Novak Djokovic was a point away from the end of his quest to become the first man in 43 years to hold all four tennis Grand Slam titles at once. On each occasion, he found a way to keep his bid alive.
Djokovic saved four match points in the fourth set and went on to defeat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in a French Open quarterfinal played in drizzle on the main Court Philippe Chatrier at Roland Garros in Paris.
The 25-year-old Serb advanced to play 16-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer in the semifinals. Federer, 30, had to overcome a two-set deficit yesterday, Kazinform cites Bloomberg.
"There is really not any rational explanation or a word that can describe what you're supposed to do when you're match points down," Djokovic told reporters. "Obviously a little bit of experience that I had playing on this level for last five, six years helps."
In the women's quarterfinals yesterday, reigning U.S. Open champion Samantha Stosur of Australia beat Slovakian Dominika Cibulkova to set up a semifinal against Sara Errani . The Italian reached the last four at a major for the first time by defeating Angelique Kerber , the No. 10 seed from Germany .
Today at Roland Garros, Maria Sharapova of Russia plays Estonia's Kaia Kanepi and Czech Petra Kvitova faces Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan for a place in the women's semifinals. Six-time champion Rafael Nadal meets fellow Spaniard Nicolas Almagro in the men's quarterfinals, while Britain's Andy Murray faces Spain's David Ferrer .
Djokovic, who is trying to become the first man since Australian Rod Laver in 1969 to win the four majors in a row, won 6-1, 5-7, 5-7, 7-6 (8-6), 6-1 against Tsonga, the fifth seed from France.
Read the full story