2019 French Open(Roland Garros): Men’s 11th Day Overview

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2019 French Open (Roland Garros): Men’s 11th Day Overview

Quarter-Finalists…

Player Nation Age Ranking Best Roland Garros performance Best Grand Slam performance
No. 1 Novak Djokovic SRB 32 1 W 2016 15 titles
No. 2 Rafael Nadal ESP 33 2 W 2005-08, 2010-14, 2017-18 17 titles
No. 3 Roger Federer SUI 37 3 W 2009 20 titles
No. 4 Dominic Thiem AUT 25 4 RU 2018 RU 2018 Roland Garros 
No. 5 Alexander Zverev GER 22 5 QF 2018-19 QF 2018-19 Roland Garros
No. 7 Kei Nishikori  JPN 29 7 QF 2015, 2017, 2019 RU 2014 US Open
No. 10 Karen Khachanov RUS 23 11 QF 2019 QF 2019 Roland Garros
No. 24 Stan Wawrinka SUI 34 28 W 2015 3 titles

On court today…

  • Novak Djokovic is bidding to return to the Roland Garros semifinals for the first time since 2016 when he faces Alexander Zverev in today’s 2nd match on Court Philippe Chatrier. The Serb suffered quarterfinal defeats here in both 2017 and 2018, but since falling to Marco Cecchinato in the last 8 here last year he has won 25 consecutive Grand Slam matches, and it will take an impressive performance from Zverev to stop the world No. 1 notching up a 26th straight victory today. Zverev is looking to reach his first major semifinal – and become the first German to reach a Grand Slam semifinal since Tommy Haas at 2009 Wimbledon, and the first German to reach the semifinals here since Michael Stich in 1996.
  • Dominic Thiem looks to have found his groove after some tough matches early on here, with a straight sets victory against Gael Monfils on Monday. He takes on Karen Khachanov, who recorded an equally impressive win against Juan Martin del Potro to reach his first Grand Slam quarterfinal, on Court Suzanne Lenglen. Thiem is aiming to progress to a 4th consecutive semifinal here – and go joint-4th on the list for most consecutive Roland Garros semifinal appearances in the Open Era – while Khachanov could become the first Russian man to reach the last 8 here since Nikolay Davydenko in 2007.

NO. 1 NOVAK DJOKOVIC (SRB) v NO. 5 ALEXANDER ZVEREV (GER)

Head-to-head: Tied 2-2

2017  Rome-1000         Clay (O)  FR Zverev  64 63
2018  Shanghai-1000  Hard (O)  SF Djokovic 62 61
2018  ATP Finals          Hard (I)  RR Djokovic 64 61
2018  ATP Finals          Hard (I)  FR  Zverev  64 63

A 5th meeting for the 2 players, their 2nd on clay, but their first at a Grand Slam. Zverev won their only previous clay court meeting – in the final at 2017 Rome-1000 – in straight sets.

Djokovic is facing a German opponent for the 2nd consecutive round. He has won all 6 of matches against German opposition at Roland Garros – including against Jan-Lennard Struff in the round of 16 here this year. He has a 16-2 win-loss record against German opposition at the Grand Slams and a 46-7 win-loss record against German opposition at Tour-level overall.

Zverev is also facing a Serbian opponent for the 2nd time at Roland Garros this year, having defeated Dusan Lajovic in 5 sets in the 3rd round. He also defeated Lajovic here last year – his only other match against a Serbian player at a Grand Slam. He has a 7-3 win-loss record against Serbian opposition at Tour-level overall.

Possible semifinal head-to-heads

  Thiem Khachanov
Djokovic 6-2 1-1
Zverev 5-2 2-1

•     DJOKOVIC is bidding to reach his 9th Roland Garros semifinal – and his first since he won the title here in 2016. He is in 2nd place on the all-time list for most Roland Garros men’s singles semifinals. 

Most Roland Garros men’s singles semifinals (all-time)

Player No. of appearances
Rafael Nadal 12
Novak Djokovic 9??
Roger Federer 8
Henri Cochet 7
Jean Borotra Jaroslav Drobny Eric Sturgess Bjorn Borg Mats Wilander 6 6 6 6 6

•   Djokovic is also bidding to reach his 35th Grand Slam semifinal and close the gap on Roger Federer at the top of

the all-time list for most Grand Slam men’s singles semifinals.

Most Grand Slam men’s singles semifinals (all-time)

Player No. of appearances
Roger Federer 44
Novak Djokovic 35??
Jimmy Connors Rafael Nadal 31 31
Ivan Lendl 28
  • Djokovic is bidding to record his 68th Roland Garros match-win. Roland Garros is his 3rd-most successful Grand Slam in terms of matches won, and his joint-2nd most successful Grand Slam in terms of semifinals reached, but his least successful Grand Slam in terms of titles won.
Grand Slam Titles won Win-loss record Semifinals reached
Australian Open 7 68-8 7
Roland Garros  1 67-13 9??
Wimbledon 4 65-10 8
US Open 3 69-10 11
  • Djokovic has reached the Roland Garros quarterfinals without dropping a set for the 2nd time. He also reached the quarterfinals here without dropping a set in 2015, when he went on to defeat Rafael Nadal in straight sets in the quarterfinals and Andy Murray in 5 sets in the semifinals, before falling to Stan Wawrinka in 4 sets in the final.
  • Djokovic has reached the quarterfinals at a Grand Slam without dropping a set for the 11th time. He went on to win his quarterfinal match in straight sets on 5 occasions – at the Australian Open in 2008 and 2015, at the 2012 US Open, 2013 Wimbledon and here in 2015.
  • By reaching his 10th consecutive quarterfinal here, Djokovic claimed sole ownership of the all-time record for most consecutive appearances in the quarterfinals at Roland Garros, ahead of Federer.
  • By reaching his 13th Roland Garros quarterfinal in total, Djokovic remained at the top of the all-time list for most Roland Garros quarterfinal appearances alongside Nadal, who also reached the quarterfinals for the 13th time here this year. 
  • Djokovic is through to his 44th Grand Slam quarterfinal. He is in 2nd place on the all-time list for most Grand Slam quarterfinal appearances, behind Federer, who reached his 54th Grand Slam quarterfinal here this year
  • Last year here, Djokovic reached the quarterfinals, falling to Marco Cecchinato in 4 sets. He also reached the quarterfinals in 2017 (l. Dominic Thiem) which was his earliest exit here since 2010 when he lost in the quarterfinals to Jurgen Melzer. This is his 15th consecutive appearance at Roland Garros and his 57th Grand Slam overall.
  • Djokovic is bidding to win his 16th Grand Slam title here. By winning his 15th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open this year, he claimed sole ownership of 3rd place on the all-time list for most Grand Slam men’s singles titles. Federer (20 major titles) and Nadal (17) are the only men to have won more Grand Slam titles than Djokovic.
  • Djokovic became the 8th man in history to win all 4 Grand Slam events by winning his first Roland Garros title in 2016, defeating Murray in the final.
  • Djokovic is bidding to win his 4th consecutive Grand Slam titleand become the 2nd man in history to hold all 4 Grand Slam titles at the same time on 2 separate occasions, having previously won 4 straight major titles in 2015-16. Rod Laver, who won all 4 Grand Slam titles in 1962 and again in 1969, is the only man to have won 4

       consecutive Grand Slam titles on multiple occasions. (see Preview page 2)

  • Djokovic is bidding to become the first man in the Open Era – and only the 3rd man in history – to win each of the 4 Grand Slams twice. Roy Emerson and Laver are the only men to have won each Grand Slam on 2 or more occasions. (NB While Laver completed the feat in 1969, some of the titles were won before the start of the Open Era)
  • Djokovic warmed up for Roland Garros by winning his 74th Tour-level title at Madrid-1000 (d. Stefanos Tsitsipas). His victory against Tsitsipas was his 200th match-win against a Top 10 player. He also finished    runner-up at Rome-1000 (l. Nadal) and reached the quarterfinals at Monte Carlo-1000 (l. Daniil Medvedev). 
  • Also in 2019, Djokovic won his 15th Grand Slam title at the Australian Open, defeating Nadal in straight sets. He also reached the semifinals at Doha (l. Roberto Bautista Agut), the round of 16 at Miami-1000 (l. Bautista Agut) and the 3rd round at Indian Wells-1000 (l. Philipp Kohlschreiber).
  • Djokovic has lost 3 of his last 4 meetings against Top 5 opponents on clay. Since defeating No. 2 Murray in the final here in 2016, the only Top 5 player he has defeated on clay is No. 5 Thiem in the semifinals at            Madrid-1000 this year. He has a 20-22 win-loss record against Top 5 opposition on clay and a 95-63 win-loss record against Top 5 opposition overall.
  • Djokovic has won 11 of his last 12 matches against Top 5 opponents at the Grand Slams. Since falling to No. 1 Nadal in the final here in 2014, his only defeat to a Top 5 player came against No. 3 Wawrinka in the final at the 2016 US Open. He has a 27-19 win-loss record against Top 5 opposition at the Grand Slams overall, but has a 4-7 win-loss record against Top 5 opponents at Roland Garros.
  • Of Djokovic’s 74 Tour-level singles titles, 14 have come on clay, compared with 55 on hard court and 5 on grass.
  • Djokovic has won 9 of his last 10 five-set matches. His only defeat in a 5-set match in that time came against Denis Istomin in the 2nd round at the 2017 Australian Open. He has a 6-2 win-loss record in 5-set matches at Roland Garros and a 30-8 win-loss record in 5-set matches at Tour-level overall.
  • This is the 20th Grand Slam at which Djokovic has been seeded No. 1. He was also seeded No. 1 at the Australian Open this year, having previously not been seeded No. 1 at a Grand Slam since the 2016 US Open.
  • Djokovic returned to the world No. 1 ranking for the first time since October 2016 in November last year, and has been ranked No. 1 since then. He is guaranteed to remain at No. 1 when the new rankings are released on Monday 10 June regardless of his performance here.
  • Djokovic is coached by Marian Vajda.
  • ZVEREV is bidding to reach the semifinals at a Grand Slam for the first time. This is his 4th Roland Garros appearance and his 16th Grand Slam overall.
  • Zverev is bidding to become the 3rd German man to reach the semifinals at Roland Garros in the Open Era – and the first since 1996, when Michael Stich finished runner-up here. Boris Becker, who reached the semifinals here on 3 occasions, and Stich, who reached 2 semifinals here, are the only German men to have reached the last 4 at Roland Garros in the Open Era.
  • Zverev is bidding to become the 7th German man in the Open Era to reach the semifinals at a Grand Slam, and the first since 2009, when Tommy Haas reached the last 4 at Wimbledon. (see table overleaf)
  • At 22 years 50 days, Zverev is bidding to become the youngest man to reach the Roland Garros semifinals since Juan Martin del Potro reached the last 4 here aged 20 years 257 days in 2009. He would become the       2nd-youngest man to reach a Grand Slam semifinal in 2019 – after Stefanos Tsitsipas, who reached the semifinals at the Australian Open this year aged 20 years 168 days. (NB Age calculated at the end of the tournament)
  • By reaching the quarterfinals here, Zverev has equalled his best Grand Slam result. He also reached the quarterfinals here last year, defeating Lajovic, Damir Dzumhur and Karen Khachanov in 5 sets en route to the last 8 – becoming the 8th man in the Open Era to win 3 consecutive 5-set matches at Roland Garros – before falling to Dominic Thiem in straight sets.
  • By reaching his 2nd Roland Garros quarterfinal, Zverev has become the 3rd German man in the Open Era to reach multiple quarterfinals here – after Becker, who reached the last 8 here in 1986-87, 1989 and 1991, and Stich, who reached the last 8 here in 1991 and 1996.
  • By reaching his 2nd Grand Slam quarterfinal, Zverev has also become the 8th German man in the Open Era to reach multiple Grand Slam quarterfinals – after Becker (who reached 23 Grand Slam quarterfinals), Stich (10), Haas (8), Nicolas Kiefer (5), Bernd Karbacher (2), Florian Mayer (2), Alexander Popp (2) and Rainer Schuettler

(2).

  • At 22 years 50 days, Zverev is looking to become the youngest Grand Slam men’s singles champion since Juan Martin Del Potro won the US Open aged 20 years 355 days, and the youngest Roland Garros men’s singles champion since Rafael Nadal won the title here in 2008 aged 22 years 5 days. (NB Age calculated at the end of the tournament) (see Preview page 6)
  • Zverev warmed up for Roland Garros by winning his 11th Tour-level title at Geneva (d. Nicolas Jarry). He reached the quarterfinals at both Munich (l. Cristian Garin) and Madrid-1000 (l. Stefanos Tsitsipas). 
  • Also on clay in 2019, he reached the 3rd round at Monte Carlo-1000 (l. Fabio Fognini) and the 2nd round at Marrakech (d. Denis Istomin, l. Jaume Munar). He lost his first matches at Barcelona (l. Nicolas Jarry) and      Rome-1000 (l. Matteo Merrettini). This is the first year since 2016 that Zverev has not won multiple clay court titles ahead of Roland Garros.
  • Elsewhere in 2019, Zverev finished runner-up at Acapulco (l. Nick Kyrgios), reached the round of 16 at the Australian Open (l. Milos Raonic) and the 3rd round at Indian Wells-1000 (l. Struff). He fell in his opening match at Miami-1000 (l. David Ferrer). 
  • Zverev is bidding to defeat a world No. 1 for the 2nd time. He has won one of his 3 matches against world      No. 1 players, with his only victory coming against No. 1 today’s opponent in the title match at the 2018 ATP Finals. 
  • Zverev is facing a world No. 1 at a Grand Slam for the first time. The highest-ranked player he has previously faced at a Grand Slam is No. 2 Andy Murray in the 1st round at the 2016 Australian Open, when he fell in straight sets. The highest-ranked player he has defeated at a Grand Slam is No. 12 Fabio Fognini in the round of 16 here this year.
  • Zverev’s 5-set victories against John Millman and Dusan Lajovic improved his win-loss record in 5-set matches at Roland Garros to 5-0. He has an 11-6 win-loss record in 5-set matches overall.
  • Zverev has won 11 career titles, including 5 on clay. He is the 5th active player, after the ‘Big 4’ of Nadal, Djokovic, Roger Federer and Andy Murray, to win 3 or more Masters-1000 titles, having won the titles at 2017 Rome-1000, 2017 Montreal-1000 and 2018 Madrid-1000. 
  • Zverev has been seeded at every Grand Slam he has contested since 2016 Wimbledon. He is seeded No. 5 here – his lowest seeding at a Grand Slam since 2017 Wimbledon, when he was seeded No. 10.  
  • Zverev rose to a career-high ranking of No. 3 in November 2017, becoming the youngest player to break the Top 3 since Djokovic in 2007. He plays here at No. 5.
  • Zverev is a former junior world No. 1. He was named 2013 ITF Junior World Champion and went on to win the boys’ singles title at the 2014 Australian Open (d. Stefan Kozlov). As well as finishing runner-up in the boys’ singles at 2013 Roland Garros (l. Garin), he helped Germany reach the 2013 Junior Davis Cup Final (l. Spain).
  • Zverev is coached by 3-time Roland Garros champion Ivan Lendl and his father, Alexander Zverev Sr. 

NO. 4 DOMINIC THIEM (AUT) v NO. 10 KAREN KHACHANOV (RUS)

Head-to-head: Khachanov leads 1-0

          2018  Paris-1000                       Hard (I)             SF        Khachanov        64 61

A 2nd meeting for the 2 players. Their only previous encounter came in Paris, with Khachanov recording a straight sets victory on hard courts in the semifinals at Paris-1000 last year.  

Possible semifinal head-to-heads

  Djokovic Zverev
Thiem 2-6 2-5
Khachanov 1-1 1-2

•     THIEM is bidding to reach his 4th Grand Slam semifinal and equal Thomas Muster’s record for most Grand Slam semifinal appearances by an Austrian player, man or woman.

  • Thiem is bidding to reach his 4th consecutive Roland Garros semifinal and go joint-4th on the list for most consecutive semifinal appearances at Roland Garros in the Open Era. 

Most consecutive Roland Garros semifinal appearances (Open Era)

  • Thiem is through to his 5th Grand Slam quarterfinal. By reaching his 3rd Grand Slam quarterfinal at Roland Garros last year, he took sole ownership of 2nd place on the list for most Grand Slam quarterfinal appearances by an Austrian player. Muster, who reached the last 8 at a major on 9 occasions, is the only Austrian player to have reached more quarterfinals than Thiem.
  • By defeating Bublik in the 2nd round, Thiem recorded his 50th Grand Slam match-win and became the 3rd Austrian man to record 50 match-wins at the majors – after Muster (77 Grand Slam match-wins) and Jurgen Melzer (59).
  • Last year here, Thiem became the 2nd Austrian player in history to reach a Grand Slam final – after 1995 Roland Garros champion Muster – but fell to No. 1 seed Rafael Nadal in straight sets. He also reached the semifinals here in 2016 (l. Novak Djokovic) and 2017 (l. Nadal). This is his 6th appearance at Roland Garros and his 22nd appearance at a Grand Slam.
  • Thiem warmed up for Roland Garros by winning his 13th Tour-level title at Barcelona (d. Danill Medvedev). He also reached the semifinals at Madrid-1000 (l. Djokovic) and the 3rd round at Monte-Carlo-1000 (d. Dusan Lajovic), but fell to Fernando Verdasco in his opening match at Rome-1000.
  • Thiem won his first Masters-1000 title by defeating Roger Federer in the final at Indian Wells-1000 earlier this year. He also reached the semifinals on clay at Buenos Aires (l. Diego Schwartzman), but retired due to illness in his 2nd round match against Alexei Popyrin at the Australian Open. He lost his opening matches at Doha                  (l. Pierre-Hugues Herbert), Rio de Janeiro (l. Laslo Djere) and Miami-1000 (l. Hubert Hurkacz). 
  • Thiem has won 7 of his last 8 matches against Top 20 opposition – including his victory against No. 17 Monfils in the round of 16 here this year. His defeat to No. 1 Djokovic in the semifinals at Madrid-1000 ended a 6-match winning streak against Top 20 players. He has a 38-52 win-loss record against Top 20 players at Tour-level overall.
  • Thiem is bidding to defeat a Top 20 player at a Grand Slam for the 7th time. He has a 6-11 win-loss record against Top 20 opposition at the majors, with 4 of his 6 victories coming here – against No. 13 David Goffin in the quarterfinals in 2016, No. 2 Djokovic in the quarterfinals in 2017, No. 3 Zverev in the quarterfinals last year, and No. 17 Monfils in the round of 16 this year.
  • Clay is Thiem’s best surface, with 126 of his 246 Tour-level victories coming on the surface. By contrast, he has recorded 104-81 match-wins on hard courts and 14 match-wins grass.
  • Thiem is seeded No. 4 here this year – his highest Grand Slam seeding. He has been seeded at every Grand Slam he has contested since 2015 Wimbledon and his previous best Grand Slam seeding was No. 5 at the 2018 Australian Open. 
  • Thiem reached a career-high ranking of No. 4 in November 2017. He plays here at the same ranking.
  • Thiem has never contested a 5-set match at Roland Garros. He has a 6-6 win-loss record in 5-set matches overall.
  • Thiem is a former junior world No. 2. He reached the boys’ singles final at Roland Garros as No. 14 seed in 2011, losing to Bjorn Fratangelo. As well as reaching the Roland Garros boys’ singles final, Thiem’s best junior result is winning the 2011 Orange Bowl (d. Patrick Ofner). 
  • Thiem joined the Austrian military as part of the country’s mandatory national service for 6 months from November 2014-April 2015, but continued to play on Tour during that time.
  • Thiem is coached by Nicolas Massu.
  • KHACHANOV is bidding to reach his first Grand Slam semifinal. This is his 3rd appearance at Roland Garros and his 11th Grand Slam overall.
  • Khachanov is bidding to become the 6th Russian man in history to reach the semifinals at Roland Garros – and the first since Nikolay Davydenko in 2007. (see table overleaf)

Russian men in Roland Garros semifinals (all-time)

Player Roland Garros semifinals reached
Nikolay DavydenkoYevgeny Kafelnikov 2 (2005, 2007) 2 (1995, 1996)
Andrei Chesnokov Karen Khachanov?? Aleksandr MetreveliMarat Safin 1 (1989) 1?? (2019??) 1 (1972) 1 (2002)
  • Khachanov is also bidding to become the 8th Russian man in history to reach the semifinals at a Grand Slam

– after Marat Safin (7 Grand Slam semifinal appearances), Yevgeny Kafelnikov (6), Davydenko (4), Aleksandr Metreveli (3), Mikhail Youzhny (2) and Andrei Chesnokov and Alexander Volkov, who each reach one Grand Slam semifinal.

  • By reaching the quarterfinals here, Khachanov has become the 9th Russian man to reach the quarterfinals at Roland Garros in the Open Era – and the first since Mikhail Youzhny in 2010. He is also just the 2nd Russian man to reach the quarterfinals at a major since Youzhny at the 2013 US Open, after Andrey Rublev, who reached the last 8 at the 2017 US Open.
  • By reaching the quarterfinals here, Khachanov has equalled his best Grand Slam result. His previous result was reaching the round of 16 on 3 occasions – at Roland Garros on his debut in 2017 (l. Andy Murray) and 2018          (l. Alexander Zverev), and at 2018 Wimbledon (l. Novak Djokovic).
  • By defeating Gregoire Barrere in the 2nd round here, Khachanov recorded his 100th Tour-level match-win.
  • Khachanov warmed up for Roland Garros by reaching the 3rd round at Rome-1000 and the 2nd round at  Madrid-1000, losing to Fernando Verdasco at both events. He lost his opening match at the 3 other clay court events he has contested this year – at Monte Carlo-1000 (l. Lorenzo Sonego), Barcelona (l. Guido Pella) and Munich (l. Philipp Kohlschreiber).
  • Khachanov’s best result in 2019 is reaching the quarterfinals at Indian Wells-1000 (l. Rafael Nadal). He also reached the 3rd round at the Australian Open (l. Roberto Bautista Agut), but lost his opening match at Doha            (l. Stan Wawrinka), Sofia (l. Matteo Berrettini), Rotterdam (l. Tallon Griekspoor), Dubai (l. Nikoloz Basilashvili) and Miami-1000 (l. Jordan Thompson).
  • Khachanov is bidding to defeat a Top 5 player for the 3rd time. He has 2-10 overall win-loss record against Top 5 opposition with both of his victories coming at 2018 Paris-1000 – against No. 5 Zverev in the quarterfinals and No. 1 Djokovic in the final.
  • Khachanov is bidding to defeat a Top 5 player at a Grand Slam for the first time. He has lost all 4 of his previous meetings against Top 10 opponents at the Grand Slams. The highest-ranked player he has defeated at a Grand Slam is No. 9 Juan Martin del Potro in the round of 16 here this year.
  • Khachanov lost the only 5-set match he has contested at Roland Garros – to Zverev in the round of 16 here last year. He has a 3-2 win-loss record in 5-set matches overall.
  • Khachanov won his first Masters-1000 title at Paris-1000 last year. He defeated 3 Top 10 players en route to the final before defeating Djokovic in the title match, ending Djokovic’s 22-match winning-streak. He has won 3 other Tour-level singles titles – at 2016 Chengdu (d. Albert Ramos-Vinolas), 2018 Marseille (d. Lucas Pouille) and 2018 Moscow (d. Adrian Mannarino).
  • Khachanov reached a career-high ranking of No. 11 after winning the title at Paris-1000 in November 2018. He plays here at the same ranking.
  • Khachanov has played Davis Cup for Russia since 2013 and defeated Marc-Andrea Huesler and Henri Laaksonen in Russia’s 3-1 victory against Switzerland in the Davis Cup Qualifiers in February. Russia will compete in Group B alongside 2018 champion Croatia and hosts Spain in the Davis Cup Finals in Madrid in November.
  • Khachanov won the boys’ doubles silver medal alongside Andrey Rublev at the 2014 Youth Olympic Tennis Event in Nanjing, China. The pair fell to Orlando Luz/Marcelo Zormann in the gold medal match.
  • Khachanov is coached by Vedran Martic. 

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