Iga Swiatek’s quest for Olympic gold has been deferred for four more years after the Polish top seed fell to China’s Zheng Qinwen in the tennis semifinals.
Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic’s gold medal aspirations remain intact despite a close call on Thursday.
Swiatek, the clear favorite for gold following her third consecutive French Open title, was unexpectedly outplayed 6-2, 7-5 by sixth-seeded Zheng in the sweltering heat at Roland Garros.
At just 21, Zheng will face Croatia’s Donna Vekic in Saturday’s final after defeating Slovakia’s Anna Karolina Schmiedlova 6-4, 6-0. Both Zheng and Vekic are making history as their countries’ first Olympic singles finalists.
Serbia’s 37-year-old Djokovic, desperate for a long-overdue Olympic gold medal, reached the semifinals for a record fourth time, edging out Greece’s Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3, 7-6 (3), despite being troubled by his suspect right knee.
As in the women’s draw, there will be a first-time Olympic men’s singles champion after Tokyo winner Alexander Zverev crashed out in the quarterfinals against Italy’s Lorenzo Musetti, who will face Djokovic on Friday.
Britain’s Andy Murray will not add another Olympic medal to his collection after losing in the doubles quarterfinals with Dan Evans against Taylor Fritz and Tommy Paul. Murray, who has two Olympic golds, saw his illustrious career end in defeat.
By ending world No. 1 Swiatek’s 25-match winning streak at Roland Garros, Zheng did not even need her best game.
“I’m so happy that I could make history for Chinese tennis because I always wanted to be one of the athletes who could get a medal for China, for our country,” Zheng said. “Right now, I’m one of them, but I know the fight is not over. It’s not the end.”
Tearful Swiatek
With several top names missing from the Olympic singles and several seeds falling early, Swiatek was a strong favorite to add Olympic gold to her five Grand Slam titles.
She held a 6-0 career record against Zheng but picked the worst possible time to deliver one of her worst performances of the year, committing 36 unforced errors.
Swiatek broke down in tears during a TV interview afterward and will now have to settle for a bronze medal match.
“I just had a hole in my backhand. It happens rarely because it is usually my most solid shot,” she told Eurosport Poland.
Struggling in the humid conditions, Swiatek’s shots often missed the lines by meters. After a bathroom break to reset, she seemed to regain control in the second set, going up 4-0.
However, it proved a false dawn as errors returned and Zheng capitalized, surpassing China’s best Olympic singles result, Li Na’s fourth place in 2008.
Djokovic concerned
Men’s top seed Djokovic was dominant in the first set against Tsitsipas. However, he went a break down in the second set and appeared to slip, aggravating the knee that required surgery after the French Open.
He needed treatment at a change of ends and nearly fell behind 5-1 before recovering to seal the victory.
“I’m concerned about the state of the knee but can’t give you exact information,” Djokovic, whose best Olympic result was a singles bronze in 2008, told reporters.
“I need to go and examine the knee now with my physio. I’m hopeful to be ready.”
Djokovic will need to be moving freely on Friday against Italy’s 11th seed Musetti, who impressed in a 7-5, 7-5 defeat of third seed Zverev, who complained of feeling horrible.
Musetti effectively now has two shots at a medal but said his focus is solely on the title despite having lost six of his seven previous matches against Djokovic.
“I’m not thinking about the bronze; that’s not the right spirit,” the 22-year-old said.
Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz remained on course for gold at his debut Games as he battled past American Tommy Paul into the semifinals, winning 6-3, 7-6 (7) after saving a set point.
The second seed will face Felix Auger-Aliassime on Friday after the Canadian beat Norway’s Casper Ruud 6-4, 6-7 (8), 6-3.
U.S. duo Rajeev Ram and Austin Krajicek followed up their defeat of Alcaraz and Rafa Nadal on Wednesday to book their place in the final, overcoming Czech pair Tomas Machac and Adam Pavlasek 6-2, 6-2.
Friday’s mixed doubles final offers more medal opportunities for China, with Wang Xinyu and Zhang Zhizhen up against Machac and Katerina Siniakova.
