Novak Djokovic pulls double duty to book Cincinnati semi-final against Marin Cilic
Novak Djokovic pulled double duty to book a Cincinnati semi-final spot on Friday.
The five-time finalist, who has never won the tournament, started the day by beating Grigor Dimitrov despite a wretched start to the match.
Djokovic lost the first set in pretty dismal fashion before powering back and claiming a 2-6 6-3 6-4 win over the Bulgarian.
However, due to a rain delay, the reigning Wimbledon champion wasn’t done for the day, and had to return later on in the day to repeat the trick, this time against big-serving Canadian Milos Raonic.
This time, the Serb was able to claim the first set but still needed three sets to get over the line, this time 7-5 4-6 6-3.
Novak Djokovic claims tennis fans are no longer intelligent enough for five-set matches.https://t.co/6tLDXZydGs pic.twitter.com/jSjY9kwMo4
— Tennis365 (@T365Official) August 16, 2018
“In matches like this, very few points decide the winner,” Djokovic said on-court.
“He was playing tactically really well. I was very fortunate to read his serve on a couple of occasions.”
Djokovic will now face Marin Cilic in the semi-finals after the Croatian cruised past Pablo Carreno Busta 7-6 6-4.
