World No.72 Cecchinato stuns Djokovic in Roland Garros

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02:46

Novak Djokovic was upset in the quarter-finals by 72nd-ranked Marco Cecchinato 6-3, 7-6, 1-6, 7-6 in Roland Garros, despite the 12-time Grand Slam winner looking fully recovered from the elbow injury that has plagued him since last season.

After showing surprising dominance in the first set, Cecchinato wrapped it up with an ace, 6-3. The second was a lot tougher and went all the way to a tiebreaker, before the Italian came to the net for an open court smash, extending his lead to 2-0.

Marco Cecchinato of Italy celebrates his victory over Novak Djokovic of Serbia during Day 10 of the 2018 French Open at Roland Garros stadium on June 4, 2018 in Paris, France./ VCG Photo

The 25-year-old was on the verge of being broken, in the fifth game of the third set. Djokovic claimed the set 6-1.

Nolé would struggle again in the fourth, which needed to be decided in a tiebreaker, where he was serving to prolong the match. Cecchinato showed great coverage along the baseline, but Djoker's lunging backhand landed just over the net to tie the extra session at 6-6.

The Serb then found him facing match point again, and couldn’t get to his opponent's flailing backhand, as the Italian took the tiebreaker 13-11. Cecchinato -- the lowest ranked major semi-finalist since 1999 -- never makes it past the first round at any previous Grand Slam and will face Dominic Thiem in the last four.