Novak Djokovic has crashed out of the French Open following a shock defeat to unseeded Italian Marco Cecchinato in the quarter-finals of the competition.
The Serb, who was treated for neck and calf injuries during the match, eventually went down 6-3 7-6(4) 1-6 7-6 (13-11) in a roller-coaster contest at Roland Garros.
© Reuters
Cecchinato went into the match having never won a main-draw match at a Grand Slam competition before, but he stormed into a two-set lead, the second of which he edged 7-4 in a tie-break.
Djokovic found his form in set three and stormed it 6-1 but the fourth proved the closest of the game.
The final set resulted in another tie-break, which neither player proved able to put to bed until Cecchinato hit a match point at the fourth time of asking with the scoreline at 12-11.
Cecchinato, who will face Austria's Dominic Thiem in the last four of the tournament, has become the first Italian player to reach a Grand Slam semi-final since 1978.
Mark Langshaw
