French Open: Dominic Thiem did everything except win epic quarter-final

World number three Dominic Thiem was one of the favourites alongside Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal to win the 2020 French Open title. However, the US Open champion lost 7-6 (7-1), 5-7, 6-7 (6-8), 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 against Diego Schwartzman in the quarter-finals at Roland Garros, following a gruelling five-hour match.

In the previous round, the 27-year old Austrian defeated Hugo Gaston in another five-set encounter. But on Tuesday, he ran out of steam against the 28-year old Argentine. This might be because Thiem has been playing competitive tennis continuously for over a month.

First, he appeared at Flushing Meadows, where he lifted the US Open title. Because Thiem played the final, he didn't get much recovery time before flying to Paris to participate in the Roland Garros event.

Playing back-to-back Grand Slam events against the top players from around the world without adequate rest proved exhausting for Thiem. Additionally, the French Open's busy schedule has also attracted criticism from athletes, including Nadal.

According to BBC, after the match, Thiem said, "In the end, I gave everything I had out there. It was an amazing match - I think the first in my career for over five hours. It was a pretty short time with the long trip home, jet lag, and everything. Come here, play in pretty brutal conditions. I cannot say it was a bad tournament - I'm pretty happy about it."

On the other hand, Schwartzman had defeated Thiem only on two occasions in eight matches before facing each other at Court Philippe-Chatrier. The Argentine's morale was high as he arrived in Paris after featuring in the final of the Italian Open. Having some recent practice on clay added extra power to his performance, which eventually proved too gruelling for Thiem to withstand.

The first four sets of the match were tight before Thiem's level dropped in the decider. In contrast, the 12th seed reached his first major semi-final, where he will take on Rafael Nadal.

The 34-year old Spaniard is aiming for his 13th French Open title. Everyone knows how tough it could be to beat Nadal on the clay court. But Schwartzman is currently high in confidence after defeating Nadal in Rome just a few weeks ago.