PARIS/WASHINGTON, June 5, 2025 (by Michael Dickens)
With equal parts power and guile – and with plenty of fortitude and guts, too – Novak Djokovic is through to his record-extending 51st Grand Slam semifinal.
On Wednesday night at Roland-Garros, as the time on the Court Philippe-Chatrier Rolex clock neared midnight, the 38-year-old Djokovic – already a three-time French Open champion – rolled back Father Time. By the end of his three-hour, 17-minute quarterfinal victory over World No. 3 and third seed Alexander Zverev of Germany, by a score of 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4, the World No. 6 from Serbia had advanced to his record-extending 51st Grand Slam semifinal by defeating last year’s finalist.
On Friday, Djokovic will face World No. 1 and top seed Jannik Sinner of Italy on Friday for a berth in Sunday’s clay-court major final. It will be their ninth career head-to-head meeting, in a series that is currently tied 4-all – and it’s also Djokovic’s 13th Roland-Garros semifinal.
Novak Djokovic: 13-time Roland-Garros semi-finalist #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/48PnAWvtQa
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 5, 2025
By reaching the Roland-Garros semifinal round at age 38, Djokovic became the oldest French Open semifinalist in 57 years, second only to 40-year-old American Pancho Gonzales in 1968.
After defeating the 28-year-old Zverev, Djokovic also kept alive his hopes of winning a record-setting 25th Grand Slam title. He’s been stuck on 24 major crowns since winning the US Open in 2023. So, Djokovic is definitely hungry and eager for more.
“Beating one of the best players in the world on the biggest stages is something that I definitely work for, and I still, you know, push myself on a daily basis at this age because of these kinds of matches and these kinds of experiences,” Djokovic expressed in his post-match remarks. “It’s a proven kind of testament to myself that I can and to others that I can still play on the highest level.”
✨ Another masterclass from Djokovic headlines our highlights of the day by @emirates. #Emirates #FlyBetter pic.twitter.com/pOzuEOLfTI
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 4, 2025
Just ask Zverev, for one, who despite winning 76 percent (55 of 72) of his first-serve points and striking 38 winners, committed 44 unforced errors and, thanks to Djokovic, also made 35 forced errors. To Djokovic’s credit, he peppered Zverev with a combination of volleys, drop shots and lobs – keeping him off-balance and on the run – to go along with hitting 42 winners, while converting four of eight break points against the German No. 1. By the end of the match, Djokovic had outpointed Zverev 121-101.
“I think at the moment, he’s a bit underrated, to be honest,” Zverev said during his post-match news conference. “I think a lot of people count him out already, but this year, he’s had a win against [Carlos] Alcaraz at the Australian Open and me at the French Open. So, forget the age. I think for any player, those are pretty good results. … I do think it was a physical match for both of us.”
41 SHOTS RALLY TO SAVE A BREAK POINT #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/jGhlFQ3qTy
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 4, 2025
A turning point in the match and, arguably, the best rally of the quarterfinal – if not the tournament – came when Djokovic and Zverev exchanged a dramatic, back-and-forth 41-shot point that occurred in the fourth set. The Serbian star faced a break point at 30-40 in the sixth game, up a break at 3-2.
In a 10-point game that lasted more than six minutes, a mesmerizing backhand exchange evolved into an all-court battle. A crafty drop shot by Djokovic drew Zverev forward, then the 24-time major champion hit a powerful smash forehand winner to counteract a Zverev defensive lob. It drew a standing ovation from the fans attending the last night-session match of this year’s Parisian fortnight.
Djokovic went on to win the game and held his serve for a 4-2 lead. From there, he never looked back – even if it did take him five match points to secure his 101st career victory at Stade Roland-Garros.
5th one is the charm #RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/gLPAiwwQG7
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 4, 2025
“The atmosphere was incredible tonight,” Djokovic said. “In the last game, especially, my tactic was to play drop shots. So, I played three or four in a row. … Maybe you can’t see it on TV, but there is a lot of wind from one side, so it gives the sensation that you must hit twice as hard. It was important to add a little variety.
“Of course, there were nerves, tension, a lot of things going on. But that’s normal when you’re playing against Zverev. He has been one of the best players in the world over the past five or six years,” Djokovic added. “Matches like this tonight are the reason why I still want to play and compete.”
Novak Djokovic’s on-court interview after reaching his 51st Grand Slam semi-final ️#RolandGarros pic.twitter.com/FD7lMMZWYQ
— Roland-Garros (@rolandgarros) June 4, 2025
Wednesday’s Roland-Garros results
Thursday’s Roland-Garros order of play
By the numbers
In reaching his 51st career Grand Slam semifinal – a record for men – Novak Djokovic is now just one behind Hall of Famer Chris Evert for the overall mark. He will be playing in his 13th Roland-Garros semifinal on Friday.
“Quotable …”
“I expected him to be able to play like this. I have not seen him play like this this year yet. I think it was very high level from him. You know, it was at some point difficult for me. … I didn’t know how to win a point from the baseline against him. I thought he was having solutions to a lot of things I was doing. So, credit to him. He played better than me today.”
– World No. 3 Alexander Zverev of Germany, during his post-match news conference Wednesday night, after losing his quarterfinal match to three-time French Open champion Novak Djokovic.
