PARIS, June 6, 2018 (News Wires) - The first thing on Sloane Stephens' mind after beating wily Russian Daria Kasatkina 6-3 6-1 at the French Open on Tuesday was to seek out friend Madison Keys, who she will face in an all-American semifinal on Thursday. "Now I just have to go find her, because I need to tell her some juicy stuff," the 25-year-old said after setting up a repeat of last year's US Open final showdown. Keys had earlier beaten Yulia Putintseva and when Stephens showed patience before overpowering Kasatkina it ensured that two Americans would face each other in the French Open semifinals for the first time since 2002 when Serena Williams defeated Jennifer Capriati. Not only that but neither had ever been beyond the last 16 of the French Open before this year. "Maybe we're just the only two people who haven't said that we hate clay, so we've gotten good vibes with it," she said. The last time Stephens and Keys played each other was on a hardcourt in the Flushing Meadows final when Stephens ended up consoling her tearful friend after demolishing her to claim a maiden Grand Slam title. While the stakes could not be higher on Thursday, Stephens said there will be no "weirdness" in the locker room. "When we get on the court, it's time to compete. But before that, we are not going to be weird and awkward and make it, like, weird for each other," she said. "I think everything will be normal. And then when we get on the court, it's time to compete. It's go time. Until then, we're the same girls as always." For her part Keys said she had 'lived and died every point' watching on TV as 10th seed Stephens almost lost to Italy's Camila Giorgi in round three last week. Since then both have stepped up a level. Kasatina, at 21 the youngest of the eight survivors in the women's draw, was always playing catch-up after dropping serve to love in the fourth game but she did claw her way back to 3-4 before Stephens broke in an eighth game that proved pivotal. With former world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson watching on, Stephens then began to hit harder and harder and Kasatkina wilted under the pressure. Should Stephens go all the way to the final her brother might be kicking himself though. Asked who had been sitting in her box alongside long-term coach Kamal Murray, Stephens said: "Well, my brother was supposed to come and he lost his passport at LAX, so that's minus one person. "I have three: my mom, my coach, my agent. There would have been four, but he lost his passport." And would he still show up? "I wouldn't let him come now. Are you kidding me? He missed his opportunity." Meanwhile, Novak Djokovic said he does not know if will play at Wimbledon after tumbling out of the French Open on Tuesday. The Serb, three-time a Wimbledon champion, appeared distraught after his quarterfinal defeat by unseeded Marco Cecchinato in which he was treated for neck pain. Clearly still wound up after a 6-3, 7-6(4), 1-6, 7-6(11) defeat Djokovic gave one or two word answers to several questions and cast doubt over his participation in the grasscourt season. "I don't know if I'm going to play on grass," Djokovic, who won the last of his 12 Grand Slam titles in Paris two years ago, told reporters crowded into a small interview room after he declined the opportunity to use a much larger one. When pressed on whether that meant he would not play at Wimbledon, the 31-year-old Serb was non-committal. "I don't know. I don't know what I'm going to do. I just came from the court. Sorry, guys, I can't give you that answer. "I cannot give you any answer." Djokovic, who came to Paris with his lowest seeding since 2006 after a difficult past 12 months in which he has dealt with an elbow injury, had begun to look like his old self at Roland Garros – dropping just one set en route to the last eight. He came up against an inspired Cecchinato though and wasted three set points to drag the match, played out in a soccer-like atmosphere on Court Suzanne Lenglen, into a decider. He refused to blame any physical problems for his defeat. "He played amazing and credit to him. Congrats for a great performance. He came out very well," he said. "I struggled from the beginning. Unfortunately, it took me time to get well, and struggled with a little injury, as well, at the beginning. And after, when I warmed up, it was better. "Just a pity that I couldn't capitalise on the chances in the 4-1 in the fourth set and some break points. I thought I had him there, but he came back and credit to him." While defeat will be painful Djokovic, who has spent 223 weeks as world No 1 during his career, he will reflect on a positive claycourt season having reached the final in Rome and enjoyed a strong run in Paris before falling short. His hunger for the fight was clear for all to see too against Cecchinato in a thrilling tiebreak – the Serb roaring to the crowd, who chanted "Djoko Djoko" at crucial moments. Asked if he was back, however, Djokovic was blunt. "I am back in the locker room. That's where I'm back," said the 2016 French Open champion.
