Tennis
The Latest: Halep reaches semifinals of French Open
Tennis

The Latest: Halep reaches semifinals of French Open

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 2:25 p.m. ET

PARIS (AP) The Latest on the French Open (all times local):

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4:15 p.m.

Simona Halep advanced to the semifinals of the French Open after saving a match point, beating Elena Svitolina 3-6, 7-6 (6), 6-0.

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The third-seeded Halep, who trailed 5-0 in the first set, was down 5-1 in the second. She bounced back and then saved a match point in the tiebreaker.

Halep, who was runner-up at Roland Garros in 2014, will next face second-seeded Karolina Pliskova.

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4:05 p.m.

Second-seeded Karolina Pliskova advanced to the semifinals of the French Open by beating No. 28 Caroline Garcia of France 7-6 (3), 6-4.

Pliskova reached the U.S. Open final last year, but the Czech player had never been past the second round at Roland Garros in five previous appearances.

On a sunny Court Philippe Chatrier, she lobbed Garcia from the back of the court to give herself two match points.

She only needed one, winning with a crosscourt forehand winner. Pliskova will next play either No. 3 Simona Halep of Romania or No. 5 Elina Svitolina of Ukraine.

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3:55 p.m.

The quarterfinal match between fifth-seeded Elena Svitolina and No. 3 Simona Halep at the French Open is going into a third set.

Svitolina won the first set 6-3 and raced into a 5-1 lead in the second before Halep bounced back and took the second 7-6 (6). The Romanian wasted four set points but evened the match on her next opportunity in the tiebreaker after saving a match point.

Svitolina, who leads the tour this year with 31 wins and four titles, is bidding to become the first Ukrainian woman to reach the semifinals of a Grand Slam tournament.

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2:15 p.m.

Play has started in the final two women's quarterfinal matches at the French Open.

The last French player in the tournament, 28th-seeded Caroline Garcia, is facing No. 2 Karolina Pliskova on Court Philippe Chatrier. Third-seeded Simona Halep is playing No. 5 Elina Svitolina on Court Suzanne Lenglen.

None of the women left at the French Open have won a Grand Slam title, while Garcia and Svitolina have never before reached the semifinals of a major.

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1:30 p.m.

Novak Djokovic is out of the French Open.

The defending champion from Serbia lost to sixth-seeded Dominic Thiem 7-6 (5), 6-3, 6-0 in the quarterfinals.

Thiem will next face Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. The 23-year-old Austrian beat Nadal last month in Rome in the Spaniard's only loss on clay this season.

The second-seeded Djokovic had two set points in the opener but couldn't convert either. Thiem took over after that, winning the third set in only 20 minutes.

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1:05 p.m.

Novak Djokovic's French Open title defense is in real trouble. He has dropped the first two sets of his quarterfinal match against sixth-seeded Dominic Thiem of Austria.

Djokovic held two set points in the opener but couldn't convert either, then lost that in a tiebreaker 7-6 (5). And Thiem then took the second set 6-3.

This is a rematch of a semifinal between the two men a year ago at Roland Garros, a match Djokovic won in straight sets on his way to completing a career Grand Slam.

The Djokovic-Thiem winner will face Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. Nadal advanced when his opponent, Pablo Carreno Busta, stopped in the second set because of an injured abdominal muscle.

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12:05 p.m.

Rafael Nadal advanced to the French Open semifinals for the 10th time when Pablo Carreno Busta retired from their match because of injury.

The fourth-seeded Nadal, a nine-time champion at Roland Garros, was leading 6-2, 2-0 when Carreno Busta stopped. It was not immediately clear what was wrong with Carreno Busta.

The 20th-seeded Carreno Busta had taken a medical timeout after the opening set.

Nadal will next face either second-seeded Novak Djokovic or sixth-seeded Dominic Thiem on Friday.

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11:00 a.m.

Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic might be cold during their French Open quarterfinals. At least they'll get to play.

A day after their matches were postponed because of rain, nine-time champion Nadal and defending champion Djokovic will try to reach the semifinals.

Shortly before play is supposed to start, the temperature is 57 degrees F (14 degrees Celsius).

If Nadal and Djokovic win, they would face each other Friday.

In the quarterfinals, Nadal will face Pablo Carreno Busta, while Djokovic meets Dominic Thiem. The other men's quarterfinals later Wednesday are Andy Murray vs. Kei Nishikori, and Stan Wawrinka vs. Marin Cilic.

The last two women's quarterfinals are also on the schedule: Karolina Pliskova against Caroline Garcia, and Simona Halep against Elina Svitolina.

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More AP tennis coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/apf-Tennis

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