Shanghai, Oct 11 (IANS): Novak Djokovic became the third oldest semi-finalist in the history of the ATP Masters 1000 series (since 1990) as the 37-year-old survived a scare against Jakub Mensik, earning a 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-4 win to advance to the last four stage in Shanghai on Friday. Djokovic has reached this stage for the ninth time in his quest to win his 100th tour-level title.
After a sluggish start, Djokovic clicked into gear in a near-flawless second set during which he won 92 percent (11/12) of points behind his first serve. He then went on to put the game to bed in the next set.
“We went toe-to-toe until the last moment. I was fortunate to find great serves in the last game, a couple of aces, that helps. I didn’t serve that well at the end of the first set when I was serving for it. He managed to turn things around by playing a good tie-break,” said Djokovic in the post-game interview.
Djokovic will be facing Taylor Fritz in the semifinals on Saturday. The American defeated David Goffin 6-3, 6-3 on Friday to advance to the Rolex Shanghai Masters final four. With his 82-minute victory, Fritz advanced to his third Masters 1000 semifinal on a hard court, and his first since winning his lone trophy at this level in the 2022 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
Fritz defeated Goffin, in his first match against the Belgian since 2021, improving his season record to 49-19. According to Infosys ATP Stats, the 26-year-old converted three of seven break points he gained thanks to his excellent groundstrokes off both wings, and he hardly appeared to be letting go during the quarterfinal match. He also became just the second American to reach the semifinal in the Shanghai tournament's history after Sebastian Korda in 2023.
“I feel like sometimes it takes a couple of matches to find my routines, to find what feels good and what is working for me,” said Fritz after reaching his fifth Masters 1000 semi-final overall.
“I feel like once I get past the first two rounds, I feel very locked in. I’ve come this far already, so I might as well really dial it in and I’m just enjoying being here,” said Fritz in the post-game interview.