Djokovic, Sinner arrange semis duel

Novak Djokovic said beating Alexander Zverev was a “testament” to his ability to compete at the highest level as the 38-year-old reached the semifinals at Roland Garros to inch closer to a record 25th Grand Slam title.

Djokovic fought past third seed Zverev 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 in a grueling night session duel, which captivated Court Philippe Chatrier over three-and-a-quarter hours.

The 24-time Grand Slam winner moves on to face world number one Jannik Sinner in the last four, after the Italian earlier raced past the unseeded Alexander Bublik in straight sets.

“Jannik is in tremendous form, and he has been the best player for the last couple of years,” Djokovic said.

“It’s going to be of course semi-finals of a Grand Slam against the No. 1 in the world. There is no bigger occasion for me, so I’ll try to do my best to step it up and perform as well as I did tonight.”

“I just hope that I will be able to physically keep up, you know, with Sinner in few days’ time. It’s a big challenge for me.”

On center court, last year’s runner-up Zverev roared out of the blocks with an immediate break of serve as he clinched the opener against Djokovic.

It was the first time the former world No. 1 Djokovic has dropped a set at the French Open this year.

Djokovic engineered himself a 3-1 lead in the second set after Zverev pushed a backhand long when serving at 30-40.

The three-time Roland Garros champion then held firm through the rest of the frame to level the match as he started to punish Zverev with drop-shots.

The Serbian sniffed out a break opportunity in game five of the third set and snaffled it, before again breaking the German as he took control of the encounter.

Now on a high, Djokovic started the fourth by again pouncing on his opponent’s usually reliable serve.

He brought Chatrier to its feet when he whipped a cross-court forehand past Zverev to save break point in the sixth game at the end of an exchange that the 28-year-old looked certain to win on at least three occasions.