Novak Djokovic faces a tense wait to see if a knee injury will derail his Olympic gold medal dream after reaching the semi-finals on Thursday as old rival Andy Murray retired.
Defending men’s champion Alexander Zverev was knocked out and a busy schedule was dealt a bitter blow.
Djokovic said he was “hoping for the best” after his injured right knee, which required surgery in June, worsened in his 6-3, 7-6 (7/3) quarter-final win over Stefanos Tsitsipas.
The 37-year-old required on-court treatment and painkillers after slipping on the Court Philippe Chatrier baseline.
He rallied from 0-4 down and then 2-5 down in the second set, saving three set points in the ninth game before going on a run in the tie-break.
The Serb will face Italian Lorenzo Musetti in the last four on Friday.
“I’m worried about the condition of my knee. I have to go check it out with the medical staff and then we’ll see,” said Djokovic.
“Tomorrow I play at 19:00, which gives me a bit more time. But I hope to be ready and optimistic. I have to be.”
The twenty-four-time winner of the Grand Slam title is still looking for her first Olympic gold medal, having managed only bronze in 2008 in Beijing.
He advanced to his fourth Olympic semi-final.
Musetti stunned Zverev 7-5, 7-5 as the world number 16 became the first Italian to reach the semi-finals since tennis returned to the 1988 Seoul Olympics.
Zverev said the illness was partly responsible for his defeat but also blasted the program as a “disgrace” after he played in the quarter-finals less than a day after drawing in the last 16.
The second seed saw off 13th-ranked Tommy Paul of the United States 6-3, 7-6 (9/7) after recovering from a second-set deficit to save a set point in the tie-break.
“It’s all about the fight,” said the 21-year-old Alcaraz, playing a day after he and Rafael Nadal suffered a heartbreaking doubles loss in what was likely to be the veteran’s last appearance at Roland Garros.
Murray’s career ended when he lost to Dan Evans in the men’s doubles quarter-finals with the American pair of Taylor Fritz, Tommy Paul 6–2, 6–4.
Former world number one and three-time Grand Slam title winner Murray (37) has already announced that the Olympics will be his last event.
“Obviously it was emotional because it’s the last time I play a competitive match. But now I’m really happy. I’m happy how it turned out.”
Seventh-ranked Zheng triumphed 6-2, 7-5 over world number one Swiatek and will face Donna Vekic in Saturday’s gold match.
Vekic of Croatia beat Anna Karolina Schmiedlová of Slovakia 6-4, 6-0.
“If you ask me to play another three hours for my country, I would do it,” said Zheng, who played three consecutive hours to reach the semifinals.
Swiatek, 23, a four-time French Open winner at Roland Garros, had beaten Zheng in all six of their previous meetings but was hit off the court by the powerful 21-year-old Australian Open finalist.
Zheng is the first Chinese man or woman to win an Olympic singles gold medal, bettering the run of Li Na, who finished fourth in the women’s event in Beijing in 2008.
China’s only Olympic tennis gold came courtesy of Li Ting and Sun Tiantian in the women’s doubles in Athens in 2004.
