'Lucky' Novak Djokovic escapes French Open disqualification

New Delhi: An apologetic Novak Djokovic on Thursday escaped disqualification after his racquet almost hit a line judge during his French Open quarter-final win over Tomas Berdych at Roland Garros.

Known for his on-court outburst, the Serbian lost his cool after a missing a break point in the second game of the third set. Djokovic went to smash his racquet into the ground but it slipped out of his grasp before it flew into the backwall on Philippe Chatrier Court.

Had it hit the nearby line judge, who was forced to take evasive action, Djokovic would have been disqualified.

The 29-year-old, a three-time runner-up and seeking a maiden Roland Garros crown to complete the career Grand Slam, went onto win the match 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 for his eighth French Open semi-final and sixth in succession.

The winner of 11 Grand Slam singles titles apologised to chair umpire Eva Asderaki Moore and escaped with a warning for racquet abuse.

After the match, he was reported as admitting, "I was lucky there... I apologised to the people that have been in this particular situation with me and that could have been hurt by my racquet".

Djokovic will play Dominic Thiem of Austria on Friday for a spot in the final.