French Open 2016 Results: Thursday Winners, Scores, Stats, Singles Draw Update
Novak Djokovic and Serena Williams continued their marches toward the French Open final on Thursday as they beat Tomas Berdych and Yulia Putintseva, respectively, to reach the semi-finals.
Djokovic won in straight sets, defeating his Czech opponent 6-3, 7-5, 6-3, but Williams had to come from behind after a poor start to her match.
Meanwhile, Dominic Thiem came from a set down to beat David Goffin in their quarter-final, and Kiki Bertens overcame Timea Bacsinszky in two sets.
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For the updated draw, visit the event's official website.
Men's Results
| Novak Djokovic bt. Tomas Berdych | 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 |
| Dominic Thiem bt. David Goffin | 4-6, 7-6 (7), 6-4, 6-1 |
Djokovic was in typically ruthless form on Court Philippe Chatrier as he dispatched the No. 7 seed with relative ease.
Per the tournament's official website, Berdych did not have his best day on court. As well as three double-faults, he made 28 unforced errors, and his repeated attempts to play at the net were met with mixed success, as he won just 16 of those 28 points.
By contrast, Djokovic went to the net six times and won all six. The official Roland Garros Twitter account provided a look at one of his more impressive shots near the net:
However, the Serbian was fortunate not to be disqualified in the third set, as he almost hit a line judge with his racket in a moment of frustration:
Per BBC Tennis, the 29-year-old revealed he had apologised to the judge and conceded he was lucky not to have struck him:
Djokovic will face Thiem in his semi-final after he saw off Goffin in four sets. The Austrian lost the first set and was a break point down in the second and third, but he rallied back to take the match.
In the second-set tiebreak, the 22-year-old needed a magnificent lob to save a set point and showed remarkable resilience as he clawed his way back into the contest with some incredible forehands.
Per FiveThirtyEight's Carl Bialik, the win has extra significance for the youngster:
Though the Djoker will undoubtedly be the favourite when they meet in the semi-final, Thiem is playing some exceptional tennis right now and could give the No. 1 seed a real scare.
Women's Results
| Serena Williams bt. Yulia Putintseva | 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 |
| Kiki Bertens bt. Timea Bacsinszky | 7-5, 6-2 |
Putintseva shocked Williams early in the first set as she fought her way to an early break to take the first set.
The American was able to break back but succumbed once more amid a raft of sloppy play, and the 21-year-old deservedly drew first blood.
Per Ben Rothenberg of the New York Times, Putintseva maintained her momentum into the second set as Williams continued to make unforced errors:
Rothenberg further highlighted one of the sources of Williams' struggles:
However, after saving several break points and scraping to 5-4, the world No. 1 eventually pulled level.
A much-improved final set saw Williams show her true class as she bowled over the Kazakh with ease, almost earning a bagel in the process.
Bertens' match with Bacsinszky was far more straightforward. Despite hitting four double-faults in the thrilling first set—which helped her opponent go a break up three times—Bertens was able to fight back and break late on to win, per Roland Garros:
The second set proved routine for Bertens, who extended her winning streak to 12 matches and has reached her first Grand Slam semi-final, where she will face Williams, who will need to put in a far better performance than she did here if she's to progress.
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