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.
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, the 30-year-old 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.”
Source : SunOnline