PARIS (AP) — LOOKAHEAD TO FRIDAY
Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal will be playing each other for the 58th time when they meet in the French Open semifinals. That is the most matchups between any two men in the professional era of tennis. Djokovic leads 29-28 overall, but Nadal leads 10-6 in Grand Slam matchups and 7-1 at Roland Garros, including a straight-set victory in last year’s final. The other men’s semifinal Friday features No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece against No. 6 Alexander Zverev of Germany. Nadal is seeking his 14th championship in Paris and 21st Grand Slam title overall, which would break a tie he currently has with Roger Federer for the most by a man in tennis history. Djokovic is bidding for a 19th major trophy and a second at the French Open. Nadal owns a 105-2 career record at the clay-court major tournament — and Djokovic is responsible for one of those defeats, which came in the 2015 quarterfinals. Neither Tsitsipas nor Zverev has played in a French Open final or won a Grand Slam title.
FRIDAY’S FORECAST
Sunny. High of 82 degrees Fahrenheit (28 Celsius).
THURSDAY’S WEATHER
Sunny. High of 82 degrees Fahrenheit (28 Celsius).
THURSDAY’S KEY RESULTS
Women’s Singles Semifinals: No. 31 Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova beat Tamara Zidansek 7-5, 6-3; Barbora Krejcikova beat No. 17 Maria Sakkari 7-5, 4-6, 9-7.
Mixed Doubles Final: Desirae Krawczyk and Joe Salisbury beat Elena Vesnina and Aslan Karatsev 2-6, 6-4, 10-5.
STAT OF THE DAY
52 — Number of Grand Slam appearances for Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova before reaching her first major final, the most by a women’s tennis player.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“I just told myself: ‘Just fight, fight, fight until the last point.’ I’m happy that I was really fighting.” — Unseeded Barbora Krejcikova, after reaching her first Grand Slam final by saving one match point and converting her fifth against Maria Sakkari.
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