Novak Djokovic became the first player to garner 100-million dollars in career earnings with his last win. Now a win in the quarter-finals over Tomas Berdych at the French Open would keep his bid for a career grand slam in tact.
Djoker in red, would get off to a quick start -- breaking his opponent early in the first set -- and breaks again thanks to wicked returns like this. He takes the opener 6-3.
Berdych now serving down two sets -- in a zebra ensemble -- that is popular in France this spring, no one told him he looks like a member of an 80's synth rock band and wins the point here when Djoker finds the net. The Serb then has a temper tantrum and loses his racket. He loses control as he tries to smash it -- he is lucky he never hit the line judge, or he could have been disqualified. Petulant child. he did receive a warning.
Rain interrupts play at 3-3. When the contest resumes soon after Djokovic shows off his skills, first the drop shot -- then a brilliant lob to help him break and take a 5-3 lead in the third.
He closes out the match with an ace. The 29-year-old has won his past 11 meetings with Berdych and now leads their head-to-head series 24-2.
Austrian beats Goffin 4-6, 7-6, 6-4, 6-1
13th seed Dominic Thiem also in the zebra attire is taking on 12th seed David Goffin. Goffin would take the opening set, but second set is tighter which features four breaks before going to a tie-break. Thiem unleashes several heavy groundstrokes that keeps his opponent pinned well beyond the baseline and then unleashes a forehand winner and is rewarded with the set.
Thiem holds the momentum for the remainder of the match, allying his powerful groundstrokes with precision to win the next two sets, 6-4, 6-1. Victory is sealed when Goffin hits wide and the Austrian is into his first grand slam semi.
"Well, I mean, it's going to be unbelievably tough. I think he's a little bit on a different level than all the other players, but still I'm in good shape and the match starts at 0-0. Everything I can do is give all I have, give my best, and then we will see what happens," said Dominic Thiem.
So here is how the semi-finals look. Djokovic will take on Thiem, and the other half features defending champion Stan Wawrinka, who faces this year's Australian Open runner-up Andy Murray.
