Victory in the final on Sunday would make Djokovic only the eighth man in history to complete the career Grand Slam. PHOTO: AFP
Novak Djokovic reached his 13th Grand Slam final and second at the French Open on Friday, bringing to an end giantkiller Ernests Gulbis’s colourful Paris campaign.
The world number two triumphed 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, and victory in the final on Sunday would make Djokovic only the eighth man in history to complete the career Grand Slam.
“I played really well in the first two sets with great concentration, but the hot conditions were very tough for both of us,” said six-time major winner Djokovic.
“I am always motivated to play well at Roland Garros. I need to push my body to the maximum as it’s hard to predict what will happen.”
Playing in his 22nd semi-final at a major compared to a debut appearance for Gulbis, the Serb was hardly troubled in the first two sets on a sweltering afternoon in the French capital.
But Gulbis, the 18th seed who defeated 17-time major winner Roger Federer and sixth seed Tomas Berdych to get to his first Grand Slam semi-final, rallied in the third to briefly breathe life into the contest.
In the end, however, Gulbis’s 44 unforced errors to Djokovic’s 25, as well as his ability to convert just two of his seven break points proved crucial.
“The difference was I’m not used to playing these kind of big matches,” said the 25-year-old from Riga.
Meanwhile, world number one Rafael Nadal beat seventh seed Andy Murray 6-3, 6-2, 6-1 in the other semi-final of the day. He will meet Djokovic in the final.
Sharapova unfazed by youthful threat
Maria Sharapova agrees that the French Open has shown that a new wave of women’s tennis talent is on the rise, but at just 27, she says she has no intention of rolling over just yet.
The Russian, a four-time grand slam winner and the biggest earner in women’s sport, has beaten two 20-year-olds en route to her third straight Roland Garros final on Saturday.
She beat Spain’s Garbine Muguruza in the quarter-finals before seeing off Eugenie Bouchard of Canada in the semis — on both occasions losing the first set.
And in the championship match, she will take on another fresh face in the form of 22-year-old Romanian Simona Halep, who has yet to drop a set.
Sharapova, French Open champion in 2012 and losing finalist last year to Serena Williams, said that she has been impressed by the new blood on show in Paris.
“I think this tournament has showed and displayed that throughout the whole two weeks,” she said Friday.
“I got a chance to play against two of them in this tournament, and both played at a very high level. I think that shows many good things to come from the young generation.”
Sharapova will start a firm favourite against Halep, who is playing in her first Grand Slam final and has failed to beat the Russian in three previous meetings, the last being in the Madrid final in April.
Published in The Express Tribune, June 7th, 2014.
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