PARIS – The Latest from the French Open (all times local):
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9:50 p.m.
Novak Djokovic has overcome a bothersome left arm and early deficit to reach the French Open semifinals for the 10th time.
The top-seeded Djokovic got off to a slow start on the scoreboard before coming back to beat No. 17 seed Pablo Carreño Busta 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4.
This was a rematch from the U.S. Open last month, when Djokovic was defaulted in the fourth round for hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball he smacked in anger with his racket after dropping a game in the first set.
That went into the books as a loss and remains the only blemish on his 36-1 record in 2020.
Djokovic certainly seems to have moved past that episode, winning all 10 matches he’s played since.
He wore a bandage on his neck Wednesday and had problems with his left arm that seemed to ease after he was massaged by a trainer during changeovers.
Djokovic will meet No. 5 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in one of Friday’s semifinals as he seeks a second French Open championship and 18th Grand Slam title.
Rafael Nadal faces Diego Schwartzman in the other.
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9:15 p.m.
French Open semifinalists Sofia Kenin and Stefanos Tsitsipas have both been fined $8,500 at the tournament so far for multiple infractions, including receiving coaching help.
Both coincidentally were docked the same amounts for the same offenses: $3,000 for coaching in the first round, another $4,000 for coaching in the fourth and an additional $1,500 for unsportsmanlike conduct.
Both are coached by their fathers. No coaching help is allowed during matches at Grand Slam tournaments.
Kenin, a 21-year-old from the U.S. who won the Australian Open this year and is seeded No. 4 in Paris, will face Petra Ktvitova in the semifinals Thursday.
Tsitsipas, a 22-year-old from Greece who is seeded No. 5, will play in the men's semifinals Friday.
The good news for Kenin and Tsitsipas: The fine money comes out of their prize money, and reaching the final four in singles at Roland Garros this year is worth $500,000.
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8 p.m.
The French Tennis Federation says the Paris Masters tournament is going ahead from Oct. 31 to Nov. 8.
The FFT says the indoor men’s event will have 1,000 spectators per day. That’s in line with the current social distancing rules for the French capital.
The French Open has also had 1,000 fans per day.
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6:15 p.m.
Stefanos Tsitsipas is into his first French Open semifinal.
The fifth-seeded Greek player beat 13th-seeded Andrey Rublev 7-5, 6-2, 6-3 to avenge a loss in the Hamburg final less than two weeks ago.
His semifinal opponent will be either top-ranked Novak Djokovic or 17th-seeded Pablo Carreño Busta. They were up next on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Tsitsipas also reached the semifinals at last year’s Australian Open.
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5:15 p.m.
Polish teenager Iga Swiatek has reached the French Open semifinals in both singles and doubles.
Swiatek and American partner Nicole Melichar beat the American pair of Asia Muhammad and Jessica Pegula 6-3, 6-4 to reach the last four of the doubles competition.
That came a day after Swiatek reached the singles semifinals by beating Italian qualifier Martina Trevisan.
Swiatek says she’s “getting more experience in tactics in doubles. ... So I’m just developing as a player.”
Swiatek’s opponent in the singles semifinals on Thursday will be 131st-ranked Argentine qualifier Nadia Podoroska.
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4:50 p.m.
Laura Siegemund has taken issue with the chair umpire for giving her a time violation during her 6-3, 6-3 loss to Petra Kvitova in the French Open quarterfinals.
The violation of the 25-second clock came while Siegemund was serving at 2-2 second set.
Siegemund froze with her arm raised and the ball still in her hand when umpire Marijana Veljovic announced the call.
Siegemund says “it’s clear that I started the movement already.”
But the umpire ruled that the clock ran out before she started her motion.
Siegmund acknowledges that she takes more time between points than most players. She adds that Veljovic “is very sharp every time I have her on the chair. She gives me a violation the first opportunity she gets.”
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4 p.m.
Sofia Kenin extended her run of success at Grand Slam tournaments this year by beating Danielle Collins 6-4, 4-6, 6-0 to reach the French Open semifinals.
Kenin has now won a tour-leading 15 matches at majors this year. She started the year by winning the Australian Open and then reached the fourth round at the U.S. Open last month.
Collins hadn't dropped a set in her three previous meetings with Kenin.
Collins won a rain-delayed three-set quarterfinal over Ons Jabeur a day earlier. She left the court for a medical time out while trailing Kenin 4-0 in the third set.
It wasn't immediately clear what was bothering Collins but she told the trainer that it was “unbearable.”
Kenin’s semifinal opponent will be two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova.
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1:30 p.m.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova overcame some potentially costly double-faults to beat 66th-ranked Laura Siegemund 6-3, 6-3 and reach the French Open semifinals for the second time.
Kvitova normally dictates play with her big serve and forehand but she double-faulted multiple times when she was broken twice in the second set.
The seventh-seeded Czech player bounced back each time and is back in the last four at Roland Garros for the first time since 2012. She lost to eventual champion Maria Sharapova that year.
Kvitova has not dropped a set in her five matches at this year's tournament.
Instead it was Siegemund who had the most costly double-fault. It came on Kvitova’s second match point.
Siegemund also missed a series of drop-shot attempts into the net. The German took a medical timeout to have her lower back treated after dropping serve to give Kvitova a 3-2 lead in the second set.
Kvitova’s semifinal opponent will be either Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin or unseeded Danielle Collins.
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12:20 p.m.
Two-time Wimbledon champion Petra Kvitova is facing unseeded Laura Siegemund in the French Open quarterfinals as play gets underway at Roland Garros with a few rays of sunshine peeking through the clouds.
Kvitova broke Siegemund's serve to take a 3-1 lead in the opening set.
Australian Open champion Sofia Kenin will face unseeded Danielle Collins in an all-American matchup later. Collins leads the head-to-head series against the fourth-seeded Kenin 3-0. She has won every set they have played against each other.
Novak Djokovic will meet Pablo Carreño Busta in the men’s quarterfinals. Carreño Busta is the same opponent Djokovic was playing when he was defaulted from the U.S. Open for accidentally hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball after a game.
The other men’s quarterfinal match is between No. 5 Stefanos Tsitsipas and No. 13 Andrey Rublev. That is also a rematch from September. Rublev won their final at the clay-court Hamburg Open on the same day main-draw competition began at the French Open.
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