Spain’s Rafael Nadal 

The 37-year-old Swiss beat his compatriot 7-6 (7/4), 4-6, 7-6 (7/5), 6-4 to reach his 43rd major semi-final and eighth at Roland Garros.

Defending champion Nadal, bidding for a 12th title at the French Open, blitzed a weary Kei Nishikori 6-1, 6-1, 6-3.

Federer trails his head-to-head record with Nadal 23-15 — despite winning their last five matches — and 13-2 on clay.

The Spaniard has a 5-0 stranglehold over Federer at Roland Garros with Nadal winning their most recent Paris clash in the 2011 final.

“The complete dream would be to win the tournament,” said Federer. “Other players won’t agree. It will be difficult, but I believe it anyway.”

The 20-time Grand Slam champion is the oldest man to make the semis at one of the big four tournaments since Jimmy Connors at the 1991 US Open aged 39.

Wawrinka saved 16 of 18 break points in a thrilling encounter, but Federer quickly finished off the match after a rain delay to progress.

It is the third seed’s first appearance at the French Open since 2015 after taking time away from clay to focus on Wimbledon, but he has been in fine form in Paris and has only lost one set so far — as has Nadal.

Nadal, who turned 33 on Monday, is three behind Federer in the all-time list of Grand Slam singles titles heading into their 39th career clash.

It will be Federer’s first Roland Garros semi-final since a defeat by Novak Djokovic in 2012.

The 2009 French Open champion struck 53 winners on Tuesday, as Wawrinka’s 61 unforced errors proved costly.

In a dramatic opening set on Court Suzanne Lenglen, Federer saved four break points before taking it in a tie-break.

Wawrinka had saved 22 of 27 break points in his epic last-16 victory over Stefanos Tsitsipas, including all eight in the deciding set, and he was at it again on Tuesday, making it seven from seven to move 3-1 in front in the second.

He suffered from a few jitters when serving to level the match, but took his fourth set point.

The topsy-turvy nature of the encounter continued in the third set, as Federer missed two set points before salvaging two break points himself after the players had earlier traded breaks.

Wawrinka held his nerve to force the quarter-final’s second tie-break, but Federer moved two sets to one in front on his fifth set point.

After the threat of thunderstorms and dark skies forced the players from the court with the fourth set level at 3-3, Federer returned refreshed 80 minutes later and sealed a 23rd victory over Wawrinka in their 26th meeting, despite needing three match points to get over the line.

– Nadal thrashes Nishikori –

Nadal took his record in Paris to 91 wins and just two defeats in a one-sided contest with Nishikori to reach his 31st Slam semi-final.

“It’s a great satisfaction to be in another semi-final, there are lots of emotions,” said Nadal.

“My level has been very good throughout the tournament and I am happy to be able to come back and play another day.”

Tuesday’s win was Nadal’s 11th in 13 meetings against Japanese seventh seed Nishikori who had played back-to-back five-setters to reach his third quarter-final at Roland Garros.

The 29-year-old Nishikori managed just nine winners in total in the first two sets.

As the skies darkened over the city, so did Nishikori’s mood as he slipped 4-1 down in the third.

Even the weather delay didn’t help as Nadal needed just another eight minutes to finish the job.

Johanna Konta became the first British woman in 36 years to reach the semi-finals by sweeping past seventh-seeded Sloane Stephens, last year’s runner-up, 6-1, 6-4 to set up a tie against Czech teenager Marketa Vondrousova.

The 28-year-old Konta had not won a match at Roland Garros in any of her previous four visits.

But now she has emulated Jo Durie who was the last British woman to make the French Open semi-finals in 1983.

“I’ve always said that whenever I step out onto the court, I’m always going to have a chance. I’m always going to have a shot,” said Konta.

The 19-year-old Vondrousova battled past Croatian 31st Petra Martic 7-6 (7/1), 7-5.

“She had beaten me four times before but I think Roland Garros must be my lucky place,” said the Czech after securing victory on a fourth match point.

Players and organisers in a photo session at the press conference on Tuesday.

The 21-year-old benefited from familiarity with her home course to beat South Korean amateur Selin Hyun by one stroke for her biggest career victory. She also became the second Thai champion in the event after Atthaya Thitikul in the inaugural edition in 2017.

The Chon Buri-based golfer plans a three-week preparation here ahead of defending her title in the country’s only LET event, from June 20-23.

“There’s no pressure at all,” said Kanyalak who has spent most of her time playing on the LET and the China Tour. “I have three weeks to get used to the course and will work on my short game which is the key for me here,” added young star who also owns a cosmetic business.

“Everybody stands an equal shot at winning on this course, depending on who has the best momentum at the time. As for me, I’d like to have good results again. I still have time to learn minor things on this course before the tournament,” added Kayalak who as the Thailand Championship winner received a full card for the LET including berths in two Majors, the British Open and Evian Championship last year.

She has entered seven LET events this season and posted two top-20 finishes, plus a top five on the China LPGA Tour in Hong Kong.

“One of the challenges playing in Europe for me is the time difference and course conditions that are a lot tougher. The courses are a lot longer than here. I always find it hard to get out of the difficult areas,” added Kanyalak who is in no hurry to compete on the LPGA as she needs a few more years to shape up her game in Asia.

“I don’t want to rush things. I don’t want to go to the US when I’m not ready yet. I need to gain more experience in Asia first,” she said.

A total of 126 players – the top 70 from the LET, top 40 from the Thai LPGA and 16 sponsor invites – will compete over 72 holes and four days in the LET Thailand Championship, with the top 60 after 36 holes making the cut for the weekend.

For live coverage tune to TrueSport HD3 on June 22 and 23 from 1pm-4pm. Day tickets at Bt100 are available at the course, with free entry to under 18s and over 60s.

The national team maximized their efforts to win their third match in the 2019 League following a

25-27 25-20 25-22 25-23 win and gave the European team their seven straight defeat in the tournament.

“We have to dedicate this win for the fans who pushed our players to fight back when they were down,” said national coach Danai Sriwacharamaytakul.

“The girls are less pressured now as they already won a match this week. We set our target to win at least one match in each pool. They will feel more relaxed in the next two days,” he added.

Earlier in the day, last year’s silver medallists Turkey summoned their best form when they needed it most as they recovered from a third set lapse to beat Dominican Republic 3-1

The 2003 European Championship runners-up won the entertaining showdown 25-20 21-15 24-26 25-18 and extended their impressive run to six wins against one defeat in the past three weeks.

After dominating the opening set with a superior all-round game, 2015 European Games champions Turkey took charge with powerful smashes to build a solid lead at 23-18. Although Dominica fought back to reduce the gap to 23-21, the European side elevated their game to win two points for a 2-0 set lead.

In the third set, the 2010 Pan American Cup champions tightened their defence for longer rallies to stay neck-and-neck with Turkey. At 25-24, Dominican Gaila Ceneida Lopez blocked a smash from the Turkish side that bounced onto an open court as the Queens of the Caribbean finally took the nail-biting set 26-24.

Dominica carried the momentum into the fourth set but their revolution did not last long. Turkey took control and tore the defence of their foes to pieces to finish them off. “It was what we expected as we had to play an attacking game against Dominican Republic. I’m happy with my team except for the set dropped. We learn from the mistakes and will improve tomorrow,” said Italian Guidetti Giovanni, coach of Turkey. Turkey will play Bulgaria today at 3pm while Thailand will face on Dominican Republic at 6pm. The matches are live on Channel 13 and 33. Thailand lost to Dominica 3-0 at this arena 12 months ago.

“I expect a difficult match as Thailand are playing at home. Every time we play they are always tough. So I don’t expect anything less,” said Kwiek Marcos, Dominican coach.

Kane made his return from a two-month injury layoff to start Saturday’s final in Madrid, but looked well short of match fitness in a disappointing Spurs display.

Dele Alli, Danny Rose and Eric Dier also featured for Mauricio Pochettino’s men, while Liverpool trio Jordan Henderson, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Joe Gomez are included in Gareth Southgate’s 23-man squad.

“You don’t have to talk to people about switching off from club football,” said Kane.

“Everyone just naturally does it and I think the fact we’ve played with each other in club sides and younger England sides (means) we’re all good friends.

“Whether you’re at Spurs or (Manchester) City or Liverpool, we’ve known each other long enough that we’ve become mates.

“When you come here, you just look forward to meeting up and being friends.”

England have the chance to win a first tournament since 1966 at the inaugural Nations League, as they face a resurgent Netherlands in the second semi-final on Thursday.

Kane believes it is important for England to claim silverware as a building block towards next year’s European Championship.

“It’s a new tournament, but it’s still a chance to win a trophy in an England shirt, and 1966 was a long time ago,” Kane said.

“I think if we go on and win, it will be another stepping stone to go on to achieve big things in the future.

“Winning trophies breeds that mentality to go on to do more and more, so it’s a chance for us to start early and try to achieve that.”

Thailand managed only a win from each of Pool 1 (over Germany) and Pool 7 (over South Korea) out of six matches they have entered over the past couple of weeks. They will launch their campaign  today against Bulgaria at 6pm after the showdown between Dominican Republic and Turkey (at 3pm).

“Bulgaria, like other teams from Europe, have showned steady improvements in their standard of play. They step up to another level in several aspects ranging from defence, offence and blocking,” said Danai.

“We have to play aggressive game and keep them out of their comfort zone. However, cheers from fans will make the players maximize their efforts more than usual. So I hope to see big crowds show up every day,” added the national coach, hoping his side  to win more than two matches they did from the past season.

The national coach also said his players had been quite exhausted from travelling for three successive weeks. But he said they seemed to have more motivation when it comes to this home ciruit.

“They recover fast from fatigue. They are very active in the training as we try to test various systems in order to come out with the best line-up. We hope to show our best performance in front of the Thai fans,” Danai said.

The 30-year-old forward is positive about his chances of winning his 100th cap in the game against AFF Suzuki Cup champions Vietnam, which kicks off at 7.45am and will be broadcast live on Thai Rath TV 32. The tournament opener between Curacao and India begins at 3.30pm.

Uncertainty lingered over the captain’s chance of taking part in the friendly tournament due to a back injury that kept him out of training for two days. But the key striker finally resumed practice on Sunday and is eager to decorate his portfolio with a special milestone.

“I cannot wait for the opportunity to win my 100th cap. I’ve got so many flashbacks of what I’ve been through as the match is getting closer. It makes me happy though,” said the Muang Thong United forward, who would have passed the century mark during the China Cup in March but for an ankle injury that forced him to pull out of the exhibition event.

“I still feel the injury but it’s getting a lot better, maybe 80 per cent now. I finally returned to team training and things are going well,” said Teerasil, who has scored 43 goals in 99 appearances with the senior team since 2007.

The game with Vietnam will be a mouthwatering showdown between the two leading football countries in Southeast Asia. Teerasil regards the game as a battle for dignity.

“Playing Vietnam, no matter what the tournament or age of players, is never easy. I have not played Vietnam for several years but I can see they keep improving. But I believe Thailand have also elevated our standard as well,” the Thai captain said.

“So I expect an entertaining game. Neither side will take a step back. It will be a battle for dignity.”

Meanwhile, Samut Prakan City’s midfielder Picha Autra has been recruited by coach Sirisak Yodyadthai to replace Buriram United’s Narubadin Weerawatnodom who withdrew from the squad with a knee injury.

Top seed and world number one Djokovic continued his bid to hold all four Grand Slam titles simultaneously for the second time by thrashing Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-2, 6-2.

The 32-year-old will now face either ninth-seeded Italian Fabio Fognini or fifth seed Alexander Zverev in what will be his 13th appearance overall in the quarter-finals in Paris.

“It was tricky with the rain, but that’s Paris,” said the 2016 champion after playing in drizzly conditions.

“I’m really confident with my serve. I hope it continues like that.”

Only Australian great Rod Laver has held all four majors at the same time twice before, after his calendar Grand Slams in 1962 and 1969.

Japanese seventh seed Nishikori came back from 1-4 and 3-5 down in the final set to beat Benoit Paire of France and set-up a Roland Garros quarter-final clash against Nadal.

Nishikori won 6-2, 6-7 (8/10), 6-2, 6-7 (8/10), 7-5 in a shade under four hours to reach his third last-eight match at the French Open.

“He almost had it today,” said Nishikori who had led two sets to one when the last-16 tie was suspended on Sunday.

“He served for the match at 5-3 but I just tried to fight and play one point at a time.”

The 29-year-old Japanese could have wrapped it up in the fourth set when he had two match points but squandered both, the second on a double fault.

Paire, the world number 38 who was trying to make the quarter-final of a Slam for the first time, was eventually undone by 15 double faults and 79 unforced errors.

Nishikori has only defeated 11-time French Open champion Nadal twice in 12 meetings with both of those wins coming on hard court.

The Spaniard, celebrating his 33rd birthday on Monday, has won all four of their meetings on clay.

“It’s going to be a tough match, he’s the greatest ever clay court player,” said Nishikori.

In the women’s event, the players who stunned top seed Naomi Osaka and 23-time major winner Serena Williams got a taste of their own medicine.

American 14th seed Madison Keys reached the quarter-finals for the second successive year with a 6-2, 6-4 win over Katerina Siniakova, the conqueror of US and Australian Open winner Osaka.

Keys, who went on to reach the semi-finals in 2018, next faces Australian eighth seed Ashleigh Barty.

“I was really happy to close it out as playing three sets in these heavy conditions does not sound like much fun,” said the 24-year-old Keys.

“I love clay courts and Paris and I am happy to play another match.”

Barty beat Sofia Kenin, who stunned Williams in the third round, 6-3, 3-6, 6-0, on Court Philippe Chatrier.

“It’s my first time this week playing on this beautiful court and I just wanted to come out here and enjoy it,” said the 23-year-old former cricketer.

“It (playing cricket) was incredible, it made me more hungry to come back and have success in tennis.”

The 29-year-old Kiradech was delighted to post another solid finish on the PGA TOUR as he concluded a four-tournament run with a final round of 2-under 70 at Muirfield Village to move up two rungs to 61^st position on the latest FedExCup points list.

More importantly, the burly Thai with a grip it-and-rip it approach to the game must take comfort that he has overcome a knee injury suffered at the Masters Tournament in mid-April.

After the tournament, Kiradech posted on his social media: “T17 the Memorial Tournament … lots of good stuff. But still have to work on something. Thanks for all your support. Now one week off.”

In his previous three starts, Kiradech produced a T5 at the AT&T Byron Nelson last month, T41 at the PGA Championship and missed the halfway cut at the Charles Schwab Challenge. He makes his third U.S. Open appearance at Pebble Beach next week, with memories of a 15^th place finish last year spurring him to improve on his best result in a major championship.

American Patrick Cantlay claimed a two-shot victory at the Memorial Tournament after a superb 64 in the final round. He edged out Australia’s Adam Scott by two strokes to lift his second PGA TOUR victory.

Austria’s Thiem, the fourth seed in the men’s event and the 2018 runner-up, was conducting his post-match press obligations after reaching the last 16 late on Saturday.

However, he was then informed that the main interview room was needed by Williams who had just suffered a third round loss to Sofia Kenin.

It was the 23-time Grand Slam title winner’s earliest exit at a Slam in almost five years and she was eager to be away from the tournament site as quickly as possible.

“It is just the principle,” Thiem told Eurosport German on Sunday.

“Even if a junior is in there, every player has to wait.”

He added: “It also shows a bad personality in my opinion. I am 100 percent sure (Roger) Federer or (Rafael) Nadal would never do something like that.”

There was no indication as to who had decided to shift Thiem mid-flow on Saturday night.

“It’s a joke,” fumed the 25-year-old Thiem to media officers after being told he should finish his interviews in a smaller room.

“I have to leave the room because she’s coming. What the hell, I don’t care. I can also do whatever I want.”

Roger Federer, meanwhile, leapt to the defence of Thiem, describing him as “a superstar, a male superstar”.

“I think the one who is still in the tournament gets priority, that’s how I see it,” said Federer after easing past Leonardo Mayer on Sunday to reach his 54th quarter-final at the majors.

“There must have been a misunderstanding or maybe they should have kept Serena still in the locker room, not waiting here in the press centre.

“I don’t know exactly what happened. I understand Dominic’s frustration. I don’t think he’s mad at Serena or anybody. I just think it was an unfortunate situation.”

Thai best player Pornanong Phatlum carded a final round 70 for a four day total of even-par-284 to finish at tied 16th with defending champion Ariya Jutanugarn falling two shots behind on 286.

South Korea’s Lee — who had never won on the LPGA Tour — stumbled to the finish with two bogeys in her final three holes but managed to shoot a one-under 70 to finish at 278 at the Country Club of Charleston in South Carolina.

“Throughout the year I couldn’t imagine coming this far, winning the first LPGA tournament, also a major championship,” she said. “I worked so hard and I feel proud of myself.”

It was six-under winning total for the player who became known as Lee6 Jeong-eun when she became the sixth player of that name on the Korean LPGA tour.

She has embraced the designation as her lucky charm, even writing the number in bold red ink on her golf ball.

She also collected the biggest single-tournament payout in women’s golf history after organizers decided to increase the first place prize money this year to $1 million.

The 23-year-old Lee started her round two shots behind co-leaders Boutier and Liu Yu of China.

She made bogey on her first hole but then came right back with a birdie on the par-four second.

She got hot on the back nine, making birdies on three of five holes starting at the par-three 11th.

“I felt pretty nervous starting on the holes 16, 17, and 18, but I tried the best that I can.

“I know I made two bogeys, but I just didn’t want to think about it too much,” said Lee, who is also the 12th different winner in 13 tournaments in 2019.

Boutier looked like she might make a run at Lee and possibly force a playoff but her bid ended in flames with a missed short putt on 16 for birdie, followed by a bogey-double bogey to close her round.

Boutier shot a 75 and finished in a tie for fifth with four others — including 54-hole co-leader Liu.

South Korean’s Ryu So-yeon and American’s Lexi Thompson and Angel Yin shared second on 280.

Lee made two previous appearances in the US Women’s Open, finishing tied for fifth in 2017 and tied for 17th last year.

The par-three 11th proved pivotal for Lee as she was one of just three players to make birdie on the hole on Sunday.

Lee reached eight under with a birdie on the 15th but instead of cruising from there, her two late bogeys made for an closer finish than she would have liked.

Boutier had a two foot putt on 16 for birdie and a chance to cut into Lee’s lead but her ball lipped out.

– Flubbed putt –

Boutier said the wind caused her to miss-hit the putt on 16.

“When I was at address, the wind kind of blew in the opposite direction so I kind of pushed it as a reaction,” she said.

She came to the 18th tee needing a birdie to force a playoff but her approach shot landed in the bunker on the right. Her next shot made it onto the green but rolled off and down a steep slope.

“I knew it was a tough hole,” she said. “I just wanted to be on regulation in two, and then if I made the putt, but I missed the green so ….”

Asked to rate her performance on the day, she said, “Well, on a scale of one to ten, probably a one. I feel pretty bad right now. So, hopefully, I’ll learn from this.”