Rediff.com« Back to articlePrint this article

PIX: World No 1 Djokovic cruises into semis

August 27, 2020 09:27 IST

Novak Djokovic

IMAGE: Novak Djokovic celebrates his victory against Jan Leonard Struff of Germany in the quarter-finals of the Western & Southern Open at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, on Wednesday. Photograph: Al Bello/Getty Images

Novak Djokovic cruised past Germany's Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-1 on Wednesday to reach a record-equalling eighth Western & Southern Open semi-final in New York where he will face Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut.

 

World number one Djokovic took advantage of a series of errors by Struff to grab control of the match and closed out the 62-minute encounter with a love service break to extend his unbeaten run to 24 matches.

"It was great. I started a little bit tight in my opening couple of service games ... Ever since I made that break at the beginning of the first set, I never looked back," said Djokovic.

"I really played very aggressive whenever I had the chance and I was going for my shots."

Novak Djokovic

IMAGE: Novak Djokovic closed out the 62-minute encounter with a love service break to extend his unbeaten run to 24 matches. Photograph: Al Bello/Getty Images

With the win, Djokovic tied Jimmy Connors, Stefan Edberg, Roger Federer and Bill Talbert's semi-final totals at the ATP Masters 1000 event.

Earlier, Bautista Agut produced a stunning comeback to defeat third seed Daniil Medvedev 1-6, 6-4, 6-3 and reach his maiden semi-final in the event, which is being played at Flushing Meadows, New York instead of Cincinnati due to COVID-19.

Bautista Agut's chances of victory appeared distant after the 24-year-old Russian cruised through the first set and had three break point chances early in the second.

Robert Bautista Agut

IMAGE: Roberto Bautista Agut produced a stunning comeback to defeat third seed Daniil Medvedev and reach his maiden semi-final in the event. Photograph: Al Bello/Getty Images

But the 32-year-old Bautista Agut began to play freely, charging the net and serving with more confidence.

"After the first set, I was thinking a lot of bad things," he said with a laugh. "I had to fight a lot in the second set. It was a really tough match."

In other quarter-final matches, Greek fourth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas advanced after Reilly Opelka, who was leading 6-5, retired due to a knee injury.

Tsitsipas will play Canada's Milos Raonic, a 4-6, 7-6(2), 7-5 winner over Serbian Filip Krajinovic, for a spot in the final.

Source: REUTERS
© Copyright 2024 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters. Reuters shall not be liable for any errors or delays in the content, or for any actions taken in reliance thereon.