PARIS — For 41 strokes, Novak Djokovic and Alexander Zverev went back and forth in a crucial rally during the fourth set of their French Open quarterfinal Wednesday.
After smacking a forehand winner, Djokovic stayed in place afterward, breathing heavily, with hands on hips, scanning the standing ovation from thousands of Court Philippe-Chatrier spectators.
The 38-year-old Djokovic, the No. 6 seed, proved too much for No. 3 seed Zverev, who is a decade younger and was last year’s runner-up at Roland-Garros, winning 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to set up a semifinal showdown against No. 1 Jannik Sinner on Friday.
The defining 41-stroke rally arrived more than 2½ hours into the match. Djokovic led 3-2, but Zverev was in possession of a break point and a chance to get back into Wednesday’s match.
Djokovic, after erasing the break point, won the game to take a 4-2 lead in the fourth set.
He might have slogged through a pair of three-match losing skids this season and slid to No. 6 in the rankings. What hasn’t changed: Djokovic’s determination and his ability to be his best on big stages. He’s now two wins from a record 25th Grand Slam title.
Friday will bring a tantalizing showdown between the player many consider the top player in tennis history, Djokovic, and the player who is at the top of the men’s game at the moment, Sinner. Djokovic and Sinner are tied 4-4 in their head-to-head series, but Sinner, who hasn’t lost a set in this French Open, has won the last three matchups.
No one has spent more weeks at No. 1 in the rankings than Djokovic. No one has won more major championships or reached more major semifinals than his total, which now stands at 51 after becoming the second-oldest man to get that far in Paris.
