A competitor lambasted the French Open as an "absolute circus" yesterday as soggy weather once again came back to exasperate players seeking a foothold in the semifinals of the rain-hit clay court major.Novak Djokovic was lucky to escape being defaulted and Austrian tyro Dominic Thiem provided plenty of entertainment as they finally caught up with the bottom half of the men's draw by setting up a cross-generational semifinal.World No 1 Djokovic was back on court for a third day running and again had to dodge the showers as he sealed a 6-3, 7-5, 6-3 win over a fuming Tomas Berdych.It was a shame that only a handful of shivering spectators turned up on Court Suzanne Lenglen to watch Thiem's racquet skills. The 22-year-old reached the last four of a major for the first time with a 4-6, 7-6 (7), 6-4, 6-1 win over Belgium's David Goffin.Serena Williams was caught up in a cold front for more than an hour as she dropped her first set of the tournament and came within two games of defeat before ramming home her title credentials with a 5-7, 6-4, 6-1 victory over Kazakh Yulia Putintseva."I didn't think I was gonna win that in the second set," the 21-times grand slam champion said after booking a semifinal berth with Dutch outsider Kiki Bertens, who beat Swiss eighth seed Timea Bacsinszky 7-5 6-2.A week of wet weather and chilly temperatures - with the mercury topping out at 14C - has robbed the tournament of its usual joie de vivre.Hence it was little wonder that the smallest of incidents could tip players over the edge.Djokovic admitted he was lucky he did not injure a linesman after he slammed his racquet to the ground and it went flying into the baseline hoardings. Had it hit anyone, it would have been an automatic default.But Djokovic's momentary rage was nothing compared to Berdych's when Australian official Wayne McEwen ordered play to be halted.As the Serbian sauntered off court, Berdych shouted: "This is a circus. An absolute circus. We've been playing two-and-a-half sets like that." ..