Djokovic Dismantles Wawrinka To Reach Cincinnati Semifinals

August 21, 2015 | By New York Tennis Magazine Staff
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A day after Novak Djokovic survived a strong test from 13th seed David Goffin, the world number one from Serbia made sure that didn’t happen again, routing fifth-seed Swiss Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 6-1 to reach the Western & Southern Open semifinals on Friday. 

The opening set was on serve until the ninth game, when Djokovic came through with a break for a 5-4 lead. He would consolidate with a hold to capture the opening set.

He carried that momentum into the second set, nailing down a couple of break points and building a commanding 4-0 advantage. From there the match was his, breaking one last time to close out the French Open champion in 64 minutes.

“It was the best performance I had so far this week,” said Djokovic. “It came at the right time against one of my biggest rivals and the guy I lost to last time we played in the finals of the French Open. So obviously I approached this match very seriously in trying to prepare myself and get myself in a good position to win. That’s what I have done. I served very well for a set and a half. He obviously didn’t play at his best level, but I felt like I was pretty solid from the back of the court and doing what I needed to do.”

Djokovic moves on to play Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov. The qualifier got the lone break of the opening set, and then broke twice in the second set to upend sixth-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych 6-4, 6-2.

Dolgopolov lost just one point on his first serves and won 80 percent of his overall service points.

He is 0-4 all-time against Djokovic.

The other semifinal in Cincinnati will be decided tonight. Roger Federer takes on Feliciano Lopez in one quarterfinal, while Andy Murray will meet Richard Gasquet. 


New York Tennis Magazine Staff
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