That Thiem ousted Djokovic wasn't a huge surprise - after all the seventh-ranked Austrian trails only Nadal in match wins in 2017 and is tied for first with the Spaniard in clay-court victories this season.
This time previous year, he was celebrating after finally shaking the French Open monkey off his back, and also becoming the first man since Rod Laver in 1969 to hold all four Grand Slam titles simultaneously.
Only 12 months ago he put the exclamation mark on one of the most dominant spells in tennis history, beating Murray in the final in Paris to become the first man in 47 years to claim four consecutive majors.
Fifth seed Svitolina looked set to become the first Ukrainian woman to make a semi-final in Grand Slam history, as she stormed ahead in the opening stages against Halep - a runner-up in Paris in 2014.
"It's going to be the toughest match you can imagine", admitted the 23-year-old.
His next opponent, Austria's 23-year-old Dominic Thiem, is one of the few players now capable of denting Nadal's hull and showed that in a straight-sets win in Rome last month.
Rafael Nadal has warned those who are tipping him for a 10th French Open title not to write off semi-final opponent Dominic Thiem, saying: "Maybe I won't be up to the challenge". "My ball was not going as long as I wanted, but she was dominating the match".
Murray came out on top in their last meeting in Paris but Wawrinka is not anxious about the result in 2016 and thinks he can get on top of the Scot this year.
Petchey feels there "have been a couple of false dawns" in recent months and admits there is a way to go before Djokovic returns to his best.
"He's played fantastic this tournament so far", Murray said of the 32-year-old, the oldest Roland Garros semi-finalist since Jimmy Connors in 1985.
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"It just wasn't there for me today, especially in the second part of the match".
Nadal reached the semi-finals after compatriot Pablo Carreno Busta retired due to injury in their quarter-final. "I play a great match or two in a row, and then I play a completely opposite match".
The Djokovic-Thiem victor will face Rafael Nadal in the semifinals.
It was 12-times grand slam champion Djokovic's first defeat before the semi-finals in Paris since 2010 when he was also beaten by an Austrian, Juergen Melzer.
Commenting on the match, McEnroe said he was absolutely baffled by what he saw and was not impressed at all by Djokovic's performance.
The last French player in the tournament, 28th-seeded Caroline Garcia, is facing No. 2 Karolina Pliskova on Court Philippe Chatrier.
Yet to drop a set this year, Nadal will seek revenge against Thiem on Friday after losing to him in the Rome quarters. Bidding for his 10th French Open title, Nadal won 6-2, 2-0 after Busta withdrew.
Murray clicked into top gear after a code violation for slow play to beat Kei Nishikori 2-6 6-1 7-6 (7-0) 6-1.
He split from coaches Boris Becker and Marian Vajda and other members of his team, bringing aboard Andre Agassi for Week 1 of the French Open.
With the pressure on Garcia, second seed Pliskova opened up a 30-0 advantage and then wrapped up the decisive break with a forehand victor.
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