Thiem edges past Djokovic to reach French Open final

Dominic Thiem advanced to his second consecutive French Open final on Saturday following a five set win over the top seed Novak Djokovic.

The match, which started on Friday afternoon and was suspended due to bad weather, concluded around 24 hours later 6-3, 3-6, 7-5, 5-7, 6-4 to the 25-year-old Austrian after four hours and 13 mintues of play.

“It was an amazing match, my first five setter at the French Open,” said Thiem in his post-match interview on Court Philippe Chatrier.

“I'm in the semis with the three best players of all time and to beat one of them is great,” said Thiem.

Djokovic, 32, had been attempting to win his fourth consecutive Grand Slam trophy and repeat his exploits of 2016 when he won at Wimbledon, the US Open, the Australian Open and then in Paris.

The Serb embraced Thiem at the net moments after his opponent's forehand drive had raced down the line for a winner.

Thiem, who has never won a Grand Slam title, will play the defending champion Rafael Nadal in the final on Sunday.

The two met in the semi-final at the Barcelona Open in April. Thiem won the encounter 6-4, 6-4 on his way to the title.

Nadal, 33, has won all three of their meetings at the French Open.