Azarenka upset at French

PARIS – There was a moment, a little past 4 p.m. on a dank and dreary Sunday at the French Open, when the gray sky above appeared to be falling on some of the best of the best.

A listless Novak Djokovic, looking very little like someone ranked No. 1 and bidding to become the first man in 43 years to win four consecutive Grand Slam titles, was trying to work his way out a two-set deficit against 22nd-seeded Andreas Seppi of Italy on Court Philippe Chatrier.

Even more astonishingly, a flummoxed Roger Federer, owner of a record 16 major championships, was trudging to the sideline after dropping his first set against 109th-ranked David Goffin of Belgium, a 21-year-old kid thrilled merely to be sharing Court Suzanne Lenglen with his idol.

By that point, one significant upset already was complete Sunday: The No. 1-seeded woman, Australian Open champion Victoria Azarenka, was headed home after losing to No. 15 Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia 6-2, 7-6 (4), busting a racket on the way out the door.

Asked afterward what she’ll do to recover from the defeat, Azarenka replied sarcastically, “I’m going to kill myself,” then added: “This tournament is over for me. What’s to recover from?”

Djokovic finished with 81 unforced errors in all, exactly his total for his first three matches combined. But Seppi’s not nearly as accustomed to these stages or stakes, and Djokovic pulled out a 4-6, 6-7 (5), 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 victory, his 25th in a row at a major tournament.

“One of those days where … nothing is working,” Djokovic said. “I could not get into the rhythm.”

He began to turn things around by breaking serve to begin the third set, and he kept on doing that, nine times in all.

When Djokovic recognized that part of his problems early on had to do with better-than-expected play by Seppi. So after they shook hands at the net when Djokovic finally closed out the 4-hour, 18-minute win, the Serb applauded Seppi and pointed toward the Italian, telling the crowd to salute him.

The third-seeded Federer, the 2009 champion at Roland Garros, did that one better after his 5-7, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4 victory, giving Goffin a tap on the head and a pat on the backside when they were done playing, then hugging him at the crowd’s behest during an on-court interview.

Once Federer seized control in the second and third sets, the outcome never really seemed in doubt. In the last set, Goffin won one point with a touch volley, then raised his index finger – signaling No. 1 – and, to the delight of roaring spectators, bowed to all four corners of the arena.

In the women’s quarterfinals, Cibulkova earned a spot against U.S. Open champion Sam Stosur, who ended 19-year-old unseeded American Sloane Stephens’ best Grand Slam run 7-5, 6-4. No. 21 Sara Errani of Italy beat two-time major champion Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-0, 7-5, setting up a match against No. 10 Angelique Kerber of Germany, a 6-3, 7-5 winner over unseeded Petra Martic of Croatia.

Azarenka’s loss means that Maria Sharapova, scheduled to play her fourth-round match today, can move up to No. 1 in the rankings by reaching the final.