Paris, Oct 8
Novak Djokovic overcame a bothersome left arm and an early deficit to reach the French Open semifinals for the 10th time.The top-seeded Djokovic kept flexing and stretching that arm and got off to a slow start on Wednesday night before he received massages from a trainer, righted himself and beat No. 17 seed Pablo Carreño Busta 4-6 6-2 6-3 6-4 to move closer to a second championship at Roland Garros and 18th Grand Slam trophy.This was a rematch from the US Open last month, when Djokovic was defaulted for inadvertently hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball he smacked in anger. That went into the books as a loss and remains the only blemish on Djokovic’s 36-1 record in 2020.Djokovic certainly seems to have moved past that episode, winning all 10 matches he’s played since.He hadn’t even ceded a set at Roland Garros this year until Wednesday, when he was troubled physically at the outset. Djokovic showed up for the match with a bandage on the back of his neck, then made clear from the get-go there was something wrong with his left arm.He is right-handed, but the left side is important, too. He uses it for his two-fisted backhand and to throw the ball in the air on serves. Whatever impediment there was to his play, whatever the pain level might have been, the issue was, at the very least, a distraction.Djokovic will meet No. 5 seed Stefanos Tsitsipas in one of Friday’s semifinals. No. 2 Rafael Nadal faces No. 12 Diego Schwartzman in the other. Nadal is seeking a 13th title in Paris and 20th major championship overall, which would equal Roger Federer’s record for men.
