French Open order of play Day 12: Novak Djokovic and Dominic Thiem eye semi-final spots

Updated 05/06/2019 at 17:09 GMT

Novak Djokovic heads an exciting day of action at the French Open and he will be hoping to book his spot in the semi-finsals at Roland Garros after play was suspended on Wednesday due to rain. Simona Halep is also in action in the women's quarter-finals of a bumper-packed programme.

Novak Djokovic is targeting a 16th career Grand Slam title

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THURSDAY’S HIGHLIGHTS

Order of play on the main showcourts on the 12th day of the French Open on Wednesday (play begins at 1100 GMT, prefix number denotes seeding)

Simona Halep (3) (ROMANIA) v Amanda ANISIMOVA (USA)
Novak Djokovic (1) (SERBIA) v Alexander ZVEREV (5) (Germany)
Madison Keys (14) (USA) v Ashleigh BARTY (8) (AUS)
Dominic THIEM (4) (AUT) v Karen KHACHANOV (RUSSIA)

Roland-Garros

Andy Murray practices ahead of 2020 French Open

00:04:06

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MATCH OF THE DAY

Novak Djokovic (SER) vs Alexander Zverev (GER)

After his disappointment last month in the Rome Masters final against Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic has regrouped and regained his ruthless edge and his clay court mastery is undeniable.

Djokovic locks horns with Zverev who hasn’t got the best track record when it comes to reaching the latter stages of Grand Slam tournaments. The German – who is the number five seed – has only previously made one quarter-final appearance at Roland Garros and will be keen to prove that he does not have a mental block on the big occasion.

The pair have only faced each other four times and the meetings have been split at two apiece. More crucially, Zverev got the better of the 15-times Grand Slam winner in the Rome Masters final in 2017.

Of course, Djokovic still has some hurdles to clear and he has been close to invincible, but were he to go all the way and triumph in Paris on Sunday, it would arguably represent his greatest achievement. Roger Federer and Nadal receive all the plaudits, but Djokovic is still one of the best players ever to wield a racket and especially to dethrone Nadal who has only ever lost twice on the clay of the French capital.

POTENTIAL UPSET OF THE DAY

Dominic THIEM (AUT) vs Karen Khachanov (RUS)

It seems amazing to think it was a year ago since Thiem had his baptism of fire in the French Open final in being crushed by Nadal. But the improvements and tweak to his clay court game has made him a serious contender.

However, his match against 10th seed Khachanov looks far from straightforward. Thiem has already dropped three sets this tournament while Khachanov came through in a classic against big hitting Juan Martin del Potro.

This match has the potential for fireworks and it could also throw up a big surprise too.