Novak Djokovic, Dominic Thiem French Open Semi-Final Suspended in 3rd Set

Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem will resume their 2019 French Open semi-final on Saturday after persistent rain and heavy winds led to their match being suspended in the third set. Thiem will start with a 3-1 lead in the set after winning the first 6-2 and losing the second 6-3.

Djokovic and Thiem started their match in tricky weather conditions, as the wind made it hard to accurately place groundstrokes and the threat of rain hung over the stadium.

The Austrian seemed to deal with the conditions best and won the first break of the match in just the third game, but the umpire soon halted proceedings:

When play resumed, the pattern of the first set held. Thiem, who has become something of a clay expert over the years, seemed far more comfortable in the rallies, while Djokovic got more emotional as the set wore on.

Down a double break at 5-2, he called for the supervisor, determined to get play suspended. Per tennis writer Carole Bouchard, he was told to continue:

Thiem easily served out the set, winning the first 6-2.

Djokovic made a better start to the second set, and both players held serve for five straight games. With Thiem on serve, the heavy rains finally arrived, and play was suspended with Djokovic leading 3-2.

There was hope the delay would be a short one:

When play resumed, Djokovic came out firing, having fully regained his composure. He secured a crucial break in the eighth game before serving out the set in the ninth.

It was turning into an excellent contest:

Thiem started mixing in more power strokes in the third set, and it yielded results in the fourth game when he bagged a break, despite struggling with what appeared to be dust in his eyes.

Tennis writer Ben Rothenberg had a suggestion:

The match was suspended again after that break, and after a lengthy delay, the decision was made to move the rest of the match to Saturday.