Tennis: Thiem breaks Djokovic's wining streak

A victory against the world's best tennis player Novak Djokovic launched Austria's Dominic Thiem to the final of Roland Garros on Saturday, after the two men completed the match that started on Friday and was then halted because of poor weather.

The 25-year-old Thiem will now face reigning champion Rafael Nadal on Sunday. Thiem had already went against Nadal in last year's final, but lost to the world's second-best player.

"If you reach the final here it's always against Rafa," Thiem said on court. "It was an amazing experience last year and I will try everything to be better this year."

Thiem claimed his victory over Djokovic in five sets, scoring 6-2, 3-6, 7-5, 5-7, and 7-5 in the French Open semifinal. The outcome dashes Djokovic's efforts to become the second man in the history of tennis to claim all four Grand Slam titles and hold them at the same time twice in his career. This feat was only completed once before by Australian Rod Laver in 1969.

Djokovic frustrated by wind

Djokovic earned a warning for unsportsmanlike conduct for his argument with the chair umpire over calling score too early. The Serbian player also slammed poor weather conditions as one of "the worst conditions I have ever been part of," after the match.

"When you're playing in hurricane kind of conditions, it's hard to perform your best," said Djokovic.

"I don't want to point out some reasons or find excuses for this loss. I mean, [Thiem] took it, he won it, and well done to him."

Before losing to Thiem, the 32-year-old Djokovic was on a 26-match winning streak. He had also won 10 of his previous Grand Slam titles.

dj/rc (dpa, AFP, Reuters)

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