Ever since the French Open draw was made two weeks ago it has been rolling towards Roland Garros like thunder: Rafael Nadal versus Novak Djokovic. The Spaniard carries about him the faintest hint of vulnerability, and he was pushed hard by Argentina's Diego Schwartzmann before running away with their quarter final 6-3 4-6 6-4 6-0. In blustery conditions he occasionally looked fatigued, and he saw his streak of 36 victorious sets Roland Garros snapped. By contrast an unheralded batch of French Open women's semi-finalists is headed by Maria Sakkari, a player from the one-time tennis backwater of Greece who employs a young British coach. Sakkari - who works with Tom Hill, a 26 year-old coach from Birmingham - stunned Poland's defending champion Iga Swiatek 6-4 6-4 to eliminate the last of the favourites.

Source: Daily Mail June 09, 2021 18:47 UTC