Austrian tennis ace Dominic Thiem secured his berth in the French Open semifinals for the third straight year after eliminating No. 2 seed Alexander Zverev in straight sets here on Tuesday.
Thiem also took revenge on his German opponent following his loss in last month's ATP Madrid Masters final. He moved through Tuesday's quarterfinals 6-4, 6-2, 6-1, reports Xinhua news agency.
Both players held their serves in the opening six games, before Thiem finished the first break in the seventh to go ahead 4-3. The Austrian sealed his victory in the first set with an ace.
Zverev, who had already recorded his best Grand Slam performance after reaching the quarterfinals, seemingly suffered a left hamstring injury when returning the ball. The German called for a medical timeout when trailing 1-4 after the fifth game.
Troubled by the injury, Zverev failed to perform at his best and quickly conceded the second set.
Thiem continued his momentum to win four straight games into the third set, and was never within reach later. Thiem wrapped up the win following his sixth break throughout the match.
Thiem won 78 per cent on his first serves, and 68 per cent on second serves, both over 20 percent higher than that of Zverev. The German also suffered 42 unforced errors, compared to Thiem's 20.
"It was tough for him (Zverev) today, he is one of the fittest guys on tour. It is tough to play three five-setters in a row. I hope that we have many more encounters against each other at this stage or even later in a grand slam," Thiem was quoted as saying by the Roland Garros official Twitter account.
Equalling his best Grand Slam performance, Thiem will next take on the winner between the 2016 winner Novak Djokovic and Italian underdog Marco Cecchinato.
--IANS
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