Novak Djokovic Beats Pablo Carreno Busta, Advances to 2020 French Open Semis

Novak Djokovic defeated Pablo Carreno Busta 4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4, in the quarterfinals of the 2020 French Open on Wednesday.

This was a rematch of the encounter that saw Djokovic default in the U.S. Open after he hit a lineswoman with a ball.

Naturally, that was the dominant storyline coming out of the day. However, it obscured the fact Carreno Busta was proving to be a handful, which partially led the best player in the world to become frustrated to the point of making a critical mental error.

During their U.S. Open match, Carreno Busta was content to extend points and let Djokovic slip up. The 17-time Grand Slam champion committed 10 unforced errors through the first 11 games.

Carreno Busta adopted the same approach Wednesday to great effect early on. Not only did he have one more winner (eight) than Djokovic (seven) but he also committed seven fewer unforced errors, per the French Open's official site.

Djokovic also appeared to be battling an injury to his left arm. In addition to having trainers look at his arm, he hit the arm multiple times when seated on the bench as if to get some feeling back.

Once the second set began, he was a different player.

His first serve percentage improved from 40 percent to 70 percent, which helped him win 76 percent of his 21 first-service points. He was more composed as well, committing seven unforced errors while collecting 13 winners.

Djokovic rolled out to a 3-0 lead in the third set before Carreno Busta started to battle back.

The turning point came in the seventh game with the score tied at three games apiece. Carreno Busta had a break-point opportunity that would've put him ahead 4-3. Instead, Djokovic held serve and took the next two games to claim a 2-1 set advantage.

That underscored Carreno Busta's problem—one that arises whenever he plays the top stars in the world. He had enough to make Djokovic's life difficult. But he couldn't deliver in the critical moments to bridge the talent gap between the two players.

The fourth set was largely the same story as the third.

Carreno Busta dropped serve in the seventh game to fall behind 3-4. He had three chances in the following game to break back and tie the score. Djokovic fended off the 29-year-old Spaniard en route to securing the victory.

Djokovic was far from his best, and Carreno Busta was a big reason for that. He'll probably be happy if they don't cross paths again anytime soon.

What's Next?

Djokovic will play Stefanos Tsitsipas in the semifinals. Djokovic is 3-2 in their five head-to-head meetings and prevailed in their only match on clay at the 2019 Madrid Open.