World no.2 Novak Djokovic claimed his 41st win at Roland Garros on Tuesday as he defeated Milos Raonic 7-5, 7-6 (5), 6-4 in two hours and 22 minutes to reach the last four in Paris for the sixth time.
The 2012 runner-up broke Raonic three times from nine opportunities and recorded his third victory in as many meetings with the Canadian.
Nole was superior in the most important moments of the match. By reaching the semi-finals, he repeated last year’s result and defended 720 ATP points.
The first eleven games of the opening set went with serve before Djokovic grabbed a crucial break to seal it 7-5.
There were no breaks in the second set. Novak won a tie-breaker 7-5 to take a two-sets-to-love advantage.
The Serb raced to a 4-0 lead in the third set. The only hiccup he had was when serving for the match at 5-2. He dropped serve in that game, but closed the match two games later, improving his season match record to 29-3.
“It is complicated to play against him because he has a great serve, powerful and accurate, difficult to anticipate,” the no.2 seed said in a courtside interview. “It was important to be mentally strong and consistent.”
Match statistics: aces (4-21), double faults (1-4), winners (37-49), unforced errors (19-40), total points won (114-98).
Novak goes on to face no.18 seed Ernests Gulbis on Friday.
After eliminating the 2009 titlist Roger Federer in R4, the Latvian upset sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych, winning in straight sets 6-3, 6-2, 6-4 to reach his first Major semi-finals.
Djokovic leads their career H2H 4-1. They last met three years ago.
Looking ahead to the clash with Gulbis, Novak said, “He is a very good player and to beat Roger and Berdych is impressive. He has been playing his best tennis, it will be difficult for me.”
The 27-year-old Belgrade native is two match wins away from becoming the eighth man in tennis history to complete the career Grand Slam. Should he lift his first French Open trophy, he would also reclaim no.1 in the ATP Rankings.
“I like my chances here,” said Novak. “I’ve had a good couple of weeks on the clay.”
Photo: AP
