Novak defeated world no.55 Robin Haase 6-4, 6-2 in 1 hour and 16 minutes on Friday to advance into the semi-finals of Monte Carlo Rolex Masters for the fourth time in his career.
There were eleven breaks of serve during the match, Nole converted 7 of his 12 break point opportunities.
Point of the match was won by the 2009 runner-up at the start of the second set as he recovered from a seemingly impossible position to get to the lob and pass Haase on the turn.
Match statistics: aces (1-0), double faults (0-0), winners (19-10), unforced errors (26-28), total points won (67-49).
The world no.1 is making his sixth appearance at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 clay-court tournament. He improved to a 14-5 event record.
Djokovic will play against 6th-seeded Tomas Berdych for a place in the final. The Czech dismissed no.3 seed Andy Murray in three sets 6-7(4), 6-2, 6-3.
The 24-year-old Serbian star has met Berdych nine times and takes an 8-1 record into their Saturday encounter.
Nole’s only loss came in 2010 Wimbledon semi-final.
“Tomas is a threat for anybody on any surface,” the top seed said looking ahead to Saturday’s semi. “It’s a big challenge for me to see if I’m able to keep the focus throughout the whole match because this is the only way I can actually get a win against Tomas.”
