Shanghai, China). Novak Djokovic became the third-oldest semi-finalist in the history of the ATP Masters 1000 Series (since 1990) as the 37-year-old Novak defeated Jakub Mencic 6-7(4), 6-1, 6 in Shanghai on Friday. Entered the last four stage by winning by -4. Djokovic has reached this stage for the ninth time in his quest to win his 100th tour-level title. After a slow start, Djokovic found his groove in an almost flawless second set, during which he won 92 percent (11/12) of the points behind his first serve. After this he won the match in the next set. “We stayed against each other until the last moment,” Djokovic said in a post-match interview. I was lucky to get great serves in the last set, a few aces, which helped. At the end of the first set when I was serving, I was not able to serve that well. He managed to turn the situation around by playing a good tie-break. Djokovic will face Taylor Fritz in the semi-finals on Saturday. The American defeated David Goffin 6-3, 6-3 on Friday to reach the final four of the Rolex Shanghai Masters. With his 82-minute win, Fritz reached his third Masters 1000 semi-final on hard courts, and his first since winning his only trophy at this level at the 2022 BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells.
Fritz earned his first win against the Belgian since 2021, taking his season record to 49–19. According to Infosys ATP Stats, the 26-year-old won three out of seven break points thanks to his excellent groundstrokes from both wings as he won comfortably during the quarterfinal match. He also became the second American to reach the semi-finals of the Shanghai Tournament after Sebastian Korda in 2023. “I think sometimes it takes me a few matches to find my routine, figure out what I feel good about and what’s working for me,” Fritz said after reaching his fifth Masters 1000 semifinal. “I think once I get past the first two rounds, I’m pretty locked in,” Fritz said in a post-game interview. I’ve already come this far, so I really should have it dialed in and I’m enjoying being here.