Dominic Thiem reached his third successive French Open semi-final today with a 6-4 6-2 6-1 demolition of a hobbled and exhausted Alexander Zverev.
Thiem, the Austrian seventh seed, goes on to face either 2016 champion and 12-time major winner Novak Djokovic or Italy's world number 72 Marco Cecchinato for a place in Sunday's final.
German second seed Zverev simply ran out of gas, paying a heavy price for needing three successive five-set matches to reach his first Grand Slam quarter-final.
His Roland Garros marathon also left him physically drained -- he needed his left thigh strapped in the second set.
"He is one of the fittest guys on the tour so it was difficult for him today," said Thiem, the only man to have defeated 10-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal on clay this year.
"I hope we have many more matches at the Grand Slams but when we are 100 percent.
"It's great to reach the semi-finals for a third year but it's time to take another step and I will do everything for that."
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