Djokovic books semi spot but drops first set
Novak Djokovic dropped his first set of the Italian Open yesterday but recovered to beat qualifier Dominik Koepfer and reach the semi-finals in Rome.
The omens were certainly not good for German Koepfer when he lost the first four games of the match, but he responded by breaking Djokovic twice in a row to serve notice that this might not be a straightforward afternoon for the world No. 1.
Djokovic moved 3-1 ahead in the second set but smashed his racket to the court after dropping serve in the next game.
Koepfer capitalised to level the match but Djokovic kept his cool and eventually came through 6-3 4-6 6-3 to set up a clash with Norwegian Casper Ruud.
There will inevitably be heightened attention on Djokovic’s behaviour on-court following his US Open default, and he said of his loss of composure against Koepfer: “Let me tell you that it’s not the first nor the last racket that I’ll break in my career.
“I have done it before. I’ll probably do it again. I don’t want to do it, but when it comes, it happens. That’s how I release sometimes my anger.
“And it’s definitely not the best message out there, especially for the young tennis players looking at me. I don’t encourage that, definitely. But, look, we’re all people. We all do our best.”
It will be Djokovic’s 69th semi-final at Masters level and 11th in Rome alone, but this is new territory for Ruud.
The 21-year-old became the first Norwegian player to make the semi-finals at this level with a 4-6 6-3 7-6 (5) victory over Italian No. 1 Matteo Berrettini.
Simona Halep is two victories away from a first Italian Open title after opponent Yulia Putintseva retired injured during their quarter-final clash in Rome.
Halep was leading 6-2 2-0 when her opponent called it a day because of a lower back problem.
Top seed Halep has twice lost in the final at the Foro Italico and is chasing the one major clay title she is yet to claim.
The Romanian said: “It’s one of the biggest goals now. I love Rome, I love Italy, and every time I have a chance I come on holiday here, so I feel really good when I play here in Italy.”
In the last four, Halep will take on another former French Open champion, Garbine Muguruza, who battled to a 3-6 6-3 6-4 victory over Victoria Azarenka.
Azarenka has exceeded expectations after her quick switch to clay following the US Open final last weekend and started strongly but it was Muguruza who emerged victorious.