Djokovic beats Medvedev to reach Eastbourne final

EASTBOURNE, ENGLAND » Novak Djokovic advanced to his third final of 2017 by beating Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-4 on Friday at the Eastbourne International, an event that is proving the ideal preparation for Wimbledon for the former No. 1.

The top-seeded Djokovic, who will take on second-seeded Gael Monfils for the title, has not dropped a set in three matches at the grass-court tournament, which he is playing for the first time in a bid to rediscover some form amid a disappointing season.

Like in his previous matches this week on England’s south coast, Djokovic mixed periods of quality with sloppiness to underline that he is still short top form heading to the All England Club.

However, at least the fourth-ranked Serb is in good spirits.

Near the end of the match, seagulls overheard were making loud squawking noises. Djokovic paused, looked up and said: “We hear you,” drawing laughter from the crowd as a smile cracked over his face.

“I actually love seagulls,” Djokovic said after the match.

He sealed victory on his second match point, when Medvedev could only return his second serve into the net.

In a well-contested first set, the former No. 1 exchanged early breaks with the 21-year-old Medvedev and clawed his way back from 0-40 to stay on serve at one point. Djokovic made fewer errors in the second set, which he took on his third match point when his Russian opponent sent a forehand return into the net.

Djokovic, who has relinquished all four of the grand-slam titles that he owned after last year’s French Open, won the Qatar Open in January in his first event of 2017 but his only other final since was in Rome, where he lost to Alexander Zverev in straight sets in May.

Monfils squandered three match points in the second set before winning an all-French semifinal against Richard Gasquet 6-2, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (4). Monfils finished the match with strapping on his left leg after appearing to twist his knee when he slipped just after serving late in the second set.

He finally secured victory with a strong serve that Gasquet returned long at full stretch, improving to 9-7 against Gasquet in their career meetings.