Monte Carlo
Second seed Novak Djokovic fell 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 on Friday to David Goffin at the Monte Carlo Masters to join a growing list of high-profile upset victims.
The Serb joined number one Andy Murray and third seed Stan Wawrinka in suffering an early exit at the first main clay court lead-up event to the French Open where Djokovic is the defending champion.
Goffin will play either nine-time champion Rafael Nadal or Argentina's Diego Schwartzman for a place in Sunday's final.
Belgian 10th seed Goffin needed five match points to defeat Djokovic having lost all of his previous five meetings against the 12-time Grand Slam champion.
Albert Ramos-Vinolas scored his second straight upset at the Monte Carlo Masters as the 15th seed beat tournament number five Marin Cilic 6-2, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2 on Friday.
After dumping out world number one Andy Murray in the third round the day before, the diminutive Spaniard returned to knock out mode as he tamed Cilic to surge into the first Masters 1000 semi-final of his career.
On Saturday, he will face Frenchman Lucas Pouille who came from behind in the final set to overhaul Pablo Cuevas 6-0, 3-6, 7-5 in two hours; the Uruguayan lost serve seven times.
"I know Pouille, he's a young player coming very strong. It will be super difficult," Ramos-Vinolas said.
The Spanish surprise winner remains perplexed at the source of his top form.
"To be honest, I think I'm playing good. I'm competing very good. But I cannot tell you exactly what's happening," the 29-year-old said.
"I played good tournaments in South America in February on clay. Here I'm playing really good, competing all the points. I cannot really tell you what is happening."
Cilic led their series 3-1 going in, but the Croatian fell victim to a few dozen forehand errors as his big game never truly gained traction in the battle over two-and-a-half hours on the Monte Carlo clay.
In later quarter-finals at the Roland Garros warm-up event second seed Djokovic faces Belgian Goffin, while Rafael Nadal continues his bid for a record 10th title at the tournament, playing Argentine Schwartzman.
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