'I'm distracted': French Open player makes boyfriend change seats

Danielle Collins took her frustrations out on her boyfriend in bizarre scenes during her French Open quarter-final defeat.

The American crashed out after a three set defeat to compatriot Sofia Kenin in the last eight at Roland Garros.

'RELENTLESS' Nadal sets up revenge clash with clay conqueror

'INCREDIBLE': Tennis world in shock over historic boilover

Kenin extended her outstanding run of success at grand slams this year by beating an injury-hit Collins 6-4 4-6 6-0.

Collins, who had won a rain-delayed three-set quarter-final against Ons Jabeur the previous day, left the court for a medical time out while trailing Kenin 4-0 in the third set.

However, it was during the second set when her anger boiled over and Collins directed it at her boyfriend Tom Couch sitting, who was sitting in the players box on Court Philippe Chatrier.

“Sit in a different spot. SIT IN A DIFFERENT SPOT. I’m distracted,” Collins shouted out at him.

The American explained afterwards that it was something in front of her boyfriend that was putting her off from focusing on the match.

“I had my boyfriend move to a different spot because I was distracted by something in front of him,” Collins said.

“I just wanted to be able to look at him from a different location.

“Sometimes too when I was serving the ball, I could see my team in the background, and I didn’t like that. Actually during the [Garbine] Muguruza match they sat on the side of the court, and then I really didn’t like when they were sitting behind the court when I was playing [Ons] Jabeur. Yeah, it was just a mental thing, I guess.”

Couch - who is also a trainer for Collins - could be seen exiting that part of the stands, before reappearing at a different spot several moments later.

Whatever the issue was it seemed to help initially as Collins took the second set to level the match, before Kenin regrouped to seal the deciding set.

Kenin, who won the Australian Open at the start of the year and then reached the fourth round at the US Open last month, has now won a tour-leading 15 matches at majors this year.

Kvitova awaits Kenin in semi-finals

In the last four, Kenin will face Czech Petra Kvitova, who had earlier overcome some nervy and potentially costly double-faults to beat 66th-ranked Laura Siegemund 6-3 6-3.

Two-time Wimbledon champion Kvitova normally dictates play with her big serve and forehand but she double faulted multiple times when she being broken twice in the second set by German Siegemund.

Yet it wasn't the seventh-seeded Czech, yet to drop a set in her five matches at this year's tournament, who made the costliest double. That indignity befell Siegemund, who served one up on Kvitova's second match point.

The German also needed a medical time out to have her lower back treated after dropping serve to give Kvitova a 3-2 lead in the second set.

It was another emotional occasion for Kvitova, who is getting ever closer to her first grand slam title since she suffered damage to ligaments and tendons in her playing left hand when fighting off an intruder in 2016.

Kvitova, who will be playing her first French Open semi-final since 2012, the year she lost to eventual winner Maria Sharapova, said: "Eight years ago I was young, I already won my Wimbledon title (in 2011) and I was kind of the favourite.

"I couldn't imagine that I can be in the semi-final of a grand slam and final of the Australian Open even before. I'm really glad in the last couple of years I improved my results. I'm proud of this, and I hope this journey, it will not end yet."

with AAP

Click here to sign up to our newsletter for all the latest and breaking stories from Australia and around the world.