Zheng Qinwen ended Iga Swiatek's 25-match unbeaten streak at Roland Garros on Thursday to become the first Chinese player to reach an Olympic Games singles final as Carlos Alcaraz marched closer to a showdown with Novak Djokovic.
Alcaraz, playing on the same Court Philippe Chatrier at Roland Garros where he captured the French Open in June, saw off 13th-ranked Tommy Paul of the United States 6-3, 7-6 (9/7).
Defending champion Alexander Zverev, however, crashed out, losing his quarterfinal to a fired-up Lorenzo Musetti of Italy.
Seventh-ranked Zheng triumphed 6-2, 7-5 over world number one Swiatek and will face Donna Vekic of Croatia for gold,
Vekic needed just over an hour to defeat Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-4, 6-0,
"I feel more than just happy -- happy isn't enough to describe how I feel," said Zheng, who had played back-to-back three-hour matches to make the semifinal.
"If you ask me to play another three hours for my country, I would. It was an amazing match. To beat Iga is not easy."
Swiatek, a four-time French Open champion at Roland Garros, went into the match at a sweltering Court Philippe Chatrier having not lost in Paris since 2021.
The 23-year-old had also defeated Zheng in all of their six previous meetings.
However, she was hit off the court by the powerful 21-year-old Australian Open finalist who broke the Pole three times in the opening set.
Swiatek appeared restored by a 10-minute break and quickly stretched out to a 4-0 lead in the second set before Zheng battled back, retrieving both breaks for 4-4.
The Chinese star broke again for a 6-5 lead against the error-plagued Swiatek and claimed victory in the next game.
OUT ❌
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) August 1, 2024
The Queen of clay is dethroned 😲
Qinwen Zheng is the first woman to beat Iga Świątek at Roland Garros since Maria Sakkari in 2021 🔙#Paris2024 | #CloserToYourChampions pic.twitter.com/brgQYePF8l
By making the final, Zheng is the first Chinese man or woman to reach an Olympic singles gold medal match, bettering the run of Li Na who finished fourth in the women's event at Beijing in 2008.
China's only Olympics tennis gold came thanks to Li Ting and Sun Tiantian in the women's doubles at Athens in 2004.
'ABOUT THE FIGHT'
Alcaraz, back at Roland Garros where he won a maiden French Open in June, became the youngest Olympic semifinalist since Djokovic in 2008.
The second seed saw off 13th-ranked Tommy Paul of the United States 6-3, 7-6 (9/7) after recovering from a break down in the second set and saving a set point in the tie-break.
A Grand Slam winner and now potentially an Olympic medalist 🔥
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) August 1, 2024
Carlos Alcaraz defeats Tommy Paul in two fiery sets to book his spot in the semifinals at #Paris2024#CloserToYourChampions pic.twitter.com/B2L2Jlj9rT
"It's all about the fight," said Alcaraz, who was playing the day after he and Rafael Nadal suffered a heartbreaking doubles loss in what was probably the veteran's final appearance at Roland Garros.
The 21-year-old will face either Casper Ruud or Felix Auger-Aliassime for a place in the final.
CHAMPION ZVEREV OUT
Wimbledon semifinalist Musetti stunned Zverev 7-5, 7-5 on the back of 20 winners as the 16th-ranked Italian continued his storming Olympics run.
The 22-year-old was playing a tour final in Umag in Croatia on Saturday night and only arrived in Paris on Sunday morning, just hours before his first-round clash.
Musetti has made the semifinals without dropping a set as he became the first Italian man to reach the singles semifinals since tennis returned to the Olympics in Seoul in 1988.
The Italian will face top seed Djokovic, who beat him in the Wimbledon semifinals, for a place in the gold medal match.
Djokovic overcame a worrying knee injury scare and a huge second-set deficit to reach his fourth Olympic Games semifinal on Thursday but admitted he faces a race against time to be fit for the occasion.
The Serbian top seed defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) but only after aggravating the right knee injury that required surgery in June.
Djokovic needed on-court treatment after slipping on the baseline of Court Philippe Chatrier.
He fell 0-4 and then 2-5 down in the second set but battled back to save three set points in the ninth game.
The 24-time Grand Slam title winner, still looking for a first Olympic gold medal, then raced through the tie-break to record his 12th win in 14 meetings against the Greek.
He did it the hard way!
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) August 1, 2024
Novak Djokovic will contest for a medal at #Paris2024 after defeating Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3 and 7-6.#CloserToYourChampions pic.twitter.com/OCPgoe0NfT
"I will have to check with my medical team," said Djokovic when asked about his fitness issues.
"It's good that I managed to get it done in straight sets and finish the match. But I also finished my fourth-round match at the French Open and then discovered that I had torn my meniscus.
"I need to see what happens now. I don't know what to say. It's day by day. I hope I can be physically fit for tomorrow."
Andy Murray's trophy-filled career came to an end at the Paris Olympics as another chapter closed on tennis's golden generation.
The former world number one and three-time Grand Slam title winner slipped into retirement when he and Dan Evans were defeated in the men's doubles quarterfinals.
American pair Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul delivered the knockout blow with a 6-2, 6-4 victory on a packed Court Suzanne Lenglen.
The end of DANDY at #Paris2024
— Team GB (@TeamGB) August 1, 2024
The end of a scintillating tennis career for Sir Andy Murray.
The Brits lose 6-2 6-4 to American pair Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul. pic.twitter.com/rxk8rf9qoC
