Reuters
Paris, Nov 7: Novak Djokovic beat Tomas Berdych 7-6 (7-3), 7-6 (8-6) in the quarterfinals of the Paris Masters here Friday to claim his 20th consecutive win and his 29th successive set and stay on course for an unprecedented third title in a row at
the event.
Both players conceded only one breakpoint as all games went to serve and the World No.1 prevailed on his second match point to set up a mouthwatering semifinal meeting with fourth seed Stan Wawrinka after the Swiss downed 14-time Grand Slam champion Rafa Nadal 7-6 (10-8), 7-6 (9-7). It will indeed be an exciting match keeping in mind that Djokovic had lost to the Swiss in the French Open final and would be out to look for revenge.
A day after his serve was less than perfect against Gilles Simon, Djokovic was extremely accurate with his delivery and played better on the key points to see off Czech Berdych, the 2005 champion.
The Serb, looking to become the first man to win six Masters titles in a season, now has a 20-2 win-loss record against Berdych who has been beaten in all their 16 matches on a hard court. It was Djokovic’s 650th career win, the first he clinched without breaking serve.
“It was a really tough match, a real battle that went to the last point. I’m just glad I managed to stay calm in the important moments and pull it through,” said Djokovic after the match.
Wawrinka also had to battle hard to knock out Nadal, ending a tense encounter with a superb forehand pass after saving two set points in the second set. The Swiss has now beaten Nadal in three of their last four meetings after losing their first 12 matches.
Earlier, Andy Murray reached the last four for the first time when he saw off local favourite Richard Gasquet 7-6 (7-5), 3-6, 6-3.
The World No. 3 allowed the French 10th seed to come back into the contest when he was let down by his first serve in the second set but regained his momentum.
Murray next plays Spain’s David Ferrer who downed big-serving John Isner 6-3, 6-7 (6-8), 6-2, with the American finishing the match exhausted.
