Two-time champion Novak Djokovic moved through to the 75th Masters 1000 semi-final of his career on Friday night following a 6-0, 6-4 victory over American Taylor Fritz in their last eight clash in Cincinnati.
The second-seeded Serbian star saw off the home favourite in one hour to book his ticket to the last four.
Nole dominated early, breaking three times for a perfect first set finish. He recovered quickly and fought back from an early break deficit in the second set, breaking his rival twice more to advance.
“I just managed to get off the blocks really strong, played an almost perfect, flawless first set,” Djokovic said. “Then I started off really poorly in the second and handed him the break, but from 2-4 down I played really four solid games in the second. Just overall a great performance.”
Match statistics: aces (2-1), double faults (4-4), winners (11-6), unforced errors (18-24), total points won (53-31).
Novak will play against 16th seed Alexander Zverev (GER) on Saturday at 18:00 local time (7-4 H2H record), for a place in the Western & Southern Open final.
Carlos Alcaraz (ESP, 1) and Hubert Hurkacz (POL) complete the semi-final line-up.
Djokovic is bidding for his third title in Cincinnati (2018, 2020) and a record-extending 39th ATP Masters 1000 singles crown.
Photo: W&S Open
