Dominic Thiem breezed into a third consecutive French Open semifinal with a dominant straight-sets win over an injured Alexander Zverev.
Thiem became the first Austrian to reach the last four at Roland Garros more than twice by easing to a 6-4, 6-2, 6-1 victory over the second seed in just an hour and 50 minutes.
Three consecutive five-set marathons appeared to have taken their toll on Zverev, who felt his left hamstring early on and persevered after heavy strapping was applied during the second set.
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Thiem was outstanding throughout a one-sided quarter-final on Court Philippe Chatrier, not dropping his serve and hitting 25 winners as he moved a step closer to a first major final.
The seventh seed will now play either Novak Djokovic or Marco Cecchinato, while Zverev will be hoping to return to full fitness for the grass-court season after his best run at a major came to a juddering halt in Paris.
Zverev was soon indicating his discomfort and he felt more pain when Thiem went 4-3 up with a majestic one-handed backhand winner after a double fault gifted him two break points.
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The world number eight barely put a foot wrong, serving out the first set with an ace after unleashing a ferocious forehand winner.
While Thiem was a bundle of energy, Zverev looked somewhat fatigued - as well as being troubled by his left leg - and he was a break down at 2-1 in the second after making a mess of a backhand slice.
The sprightly Thiem saved a first break point for Zverev by winning a brilliant point which he dictated and led 4-1 when he German netted a backhand.
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Zverev was holding his head in his chair before having his leg heavily strapped and both players went off court at the end of a second set which Thiem wrapped up with a hold to love.
Thiem showed no mercy as he continued to dominate, racing into a 4-0 lead in a flash in the third set by mixing up his game expertly.
He followed up a wickedly spinning sublime backhand drop with another rasping one-handed backhand winner after saving a break point to lead 5-1 and sealing a crushing win with a straightforward backhand into an open court.
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STATISTICAL BREAKDOWN
Thiem [7] bt Zverev [2] 6-4 6-2 6-1
WINNERS/UNFORCED ERRORS
Thiem – 25/20
Zverev – 19/42
ACES/DOUBLE FAULTS
Thiem – 5/3
Zverev – 2/4
BREAK POINTS WON
Thiem – 6/12
Zverev – 0/2
FIRST SERVE PERCENTAGE
Thiem – 63
Zverev – 72
PERCENTAGE OF POINTS WON ON FIRST/SECOND SERVE
Thiem – 79/68
Zverev – 53/44
TOTAL POINTS
Thiem – 94
Zverev – 62
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