01. 03. 2012. ยท Photo: Reuters
Nole is through to the last four in Dubai for the fifth year in a row!
The world no.1 improved to a 10-0 record this season with a victory over his friend and Davis Cup teammate Janko Tipsarevic 6-1, 7-6 (6) on Thursday.
He needed 1 hour and 36 minutes to beat the no.7 seed and reach the semi-finals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.
Janko was nervous at the beginning of the match and it resulted in unforced errors. Novak was confident, he used his chances and broke Tipsarevic twice to take the set 6-1 in 26 minutes.
The second set was decided in a tie-breaker. Janko double-faulted on his set point opportunity. Nole converted his chance for 8-6 and semi-final berth.
“I thought I started really well,” said Djokovic. “He was missing first serves, didn’t have a high percentage. Then in the second set, whenever I had a break ball he served well. So he was very close to take that second set. Then who knows what could have happened. We both got a little bit nervous towards the end, I guess, and it was just luck to prevail.”
Match statistics: aces (7-10), double faults (1-5), total points won (72-53).
The top seed will face world no.4 Andy Murray for a place in the finals. The British no.1 defeated Czech Tomas Berdych 6-3, 7-5.
With the win, the 24-year-old Serbian star improved to a 23-2 record in his sixth appearance in Dubai. He will take a 7-4 record against Andy into the semi-final which is scheduled on Friday at 14.00 CET.
They last met in 2012 Australian Open semis when Novak prevailed in five sets (6-3, 3-6, 6-7 (4), 6-1, 7-5).
“Every time you play, especially top four, it’s a big challenge for both of us,” said Nole. “Especially after that Australian Open thrilling match that lasted for five hours. It’s going to be a good match. We both look forward to that. We always try to win against each other and it’s a great rivalry.”
