Nole is into his ninth final of the season!
Top seed improved to a 64-11 record in 2012 on Saturday defeating German Florian Mayer in straight sets 6-1, 6-4 to reach the China Open final for the third time.
Novak broke Mayer twice in the opening set, in the fourth and sixth games, for 6-1 in just 20 minutes.
A break in the seventh game of the second set was enough for the two-time champion to seal the victory in one hour.
“I got off to a good start,” said Djokovic. “Then I used that rhythm in the second set, which was close, but I managed to make that crucial break at 3-3, and then I felt more comfortable. I served well in the second set, but generally I have been playing really well throughout the whole tournament. Hopefully that can be the case tomorrow.”
Nole will meet third-seeded Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Sunday at 16.00 local time (10.00 CET) in attempt to win his 32nd career title.
It will be their 13th H2H encounter, the Serbian world no.2 leads 7-5.
Djokovic has won all three clashes this year, in quarter-finals of Rome, Roland Garros and Olympic Games.
“He’s been playing really well,” said Novak, when asked about his next rival. “There are no secrets between us. I mean, we have played many times, played a lot of important matches on the big stage. He’s a very powerful player, big serve, big forehand, and if that works, he can win against anybody on any surface, to be honest. So there is no clear favourite, I think, in tomorrow’s match. We have both been winning quite comfortably. It’s going to be a good final hopefully for the tournament.”
The 25-year-old Belgrade native won the Beijing trophy on his first two visits in 2009
(d. Cilic) and 2010 (d. Ferrer). Last year he skipped the event due to injury.
He is bidding to win his fourth tour-level title of the season after victories at the Australian Open (d. Nadal), Miami Masters (d. Murray) and Rogers Cup (d. Gasquet).
Photo: Getty Images
