Djokovic has tennis history within grasp at the French Open

Sure, Novak Djokovic wants to win each match he plays. And, yes, he wants to come through at key moments, such as when he got broken early in his French Open quarterfinal and was in danger of dropping a set for the first time in the tournament.

What matters most to Djokovic, though, is the big picture. And so he's excited to be two victories away from doing something only one other man, Rod Laver, ever has in tennis: holding all four major titles at once on two separate occasions.

"The longer I play or the further I go, I guess, in my career, the sense of history-making is only getting stronger. That's one of the greatest motivations I have, obviously," Djokovic said after a methodical 7-5, 6-2, 6-2 dismantling of Alexander Zverev on Thursday.

Serbia's Novak Djokovic plays a shot against Germany's Alexander Zverev during their quarterfinal match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Thursday, June 6, 2019. (AP PhotoChristophe Ena)

Djokovic already won four straight majors in 2015-16. And since his shocking loss to unheralded Italian player Marco Cecchinato in the quarterfinals last year at Roland Garros, Djokovic has compiled a 26-0 record at the Grand Slams, winning Wimbledon, the U.S. Open, and the Australian Open along the way.

"There is no better way to make history of the sport than to win Slams and play your best in the biggest events," Djokovic said. "Those are the pinnacle achievements that you can have in our sport."

Due to Wednesday's washout, Djokovic will be back on the court without a day's rest for Friday's semifinals against Dominic Thiem.

Germany's Alexander Zverev slips and falls after running to return Serbia's Novak Djokovic's drop shot during their quarterfinal match of the French Open tennis tournament at the Roland Garros stadium in Paris, Thursday, June 6, 2019. (AP PhotoMichel Euler)

Thiem, last year's runner-up, rolled past 10th-seeded Karen Khachanov 6-2, 6-4, 6-2 .

In the other semifinal, 11-time French Open champion Rafael Nadal renews his rivalry with Roger Federer.

It's the first time since 2011 that all top four seeds have reached the semifinals in Paris.

Even if Djokovic raises another trophy come Sunday, however, Laver will remain the only man to have won all four Grand Slams in the same calendar year twice, in 1962 and 1969.

Yet even Laver is awed by what Djokovic is accomplishing.

"I marvel at someone like Novak with his ability and his consistency," Laver said. "When you look at the way he plays the game, he doesn't go bang, bang, bang, ace, volleys. He wins every individual point from the baseline."

With so much physical exertion, there was a moment against Zverev when Djokovic appeared out of breath after sending a backhand wide to give the fifth-seeded German a break and a chance to serve out the opening set.

But Djokovic found his second wind, started pushing Zverev back and forth to the corners like a windshield wiper, broke right back and reeled off five straight games to take the set and a 3-0 lead in the second.

"(I) really thought that the first set should have gone my way," Zverev said. "Once he's in control, he's very tough to beat. He's world No. 1 for a reason."

AP Tennis Writer Howard Fendrich contributed.

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NEW YORK (AP) — Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine is joining Venezuela's president and the man charged with gunning down United Healthcare’s CEO in a notorious federal lockup in New York City.

The embattled 29-year-old artist, whose real name is Daniel Hernandez, reported to the Metropolitan Detention Center in his native Brooklyn on Tuesday to serve out his latest stint behind bars.

He drove up to the gates of the jail in a luxury van with internet personality Adin Ross and a camera crew streaming live as he turned himself in.

The facility is the only federal jail in New York City but is so troubled that some judges have refused to send people there and others have described it as “ hell on earth ” for its poor conditions and constant violence.

It currently houses Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, as well as Luigi Mangione, who is accused of killing Brian Thompson, the leader of the country's biggest health insurer.

Over the years, MDC Brooklyn has housed a constellation of other infamous inmates, including music stars R. Kelly and Sean “Diddy” Combs and longtime Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell.

Hernandez’s lawyers didn’t immediately respond to emails seeking comment Tuesday, but have said previously that the rapper looked forward to serving out his sentence so he could resume his music career.

Hernandez admitted last year to assaulting a man and possessing drugs, in violation of the terms of his supervised release in a gang-related case.

He was sentenced in December to serve three more months in federal custody. He was previously slapped with a 45-day sentence in 2024 for breaking the terms of his supervised release.

Hernandez shot to fame with the 2017 release of his song “Gummo,” but the following year he pleaded guilty to his involvement with a violent New York-based gang, the Nine Trey Gangsta Bloods.

He was sentenced to two years in prison in 2019, followed by five years of supervised release for his cooperation in the racketeering case against other gang members.

He was released from federal prison several months early during the height of COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.

Hernandez's latest sentence is related to small amounts of cocaine and ecstasy found at his Miami home during a police raid. Prosecutors say he also punched a man who taunted him at a Florida mall over his cooperation against gang members.

FILE - Rapper Tekashi 6ix9ine watches a baseball game between the Miami Marlins and New York Mets, Aug. 3, 2021, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky, File)