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Novak Djokovic made history by becoming the oldest player to reach an ATP 1000 semi-final as he beat Belgium’s Zizou Bergs 6-3 7-5.
Djokovic overcame an early injury scare when he held his left Achilles and appeared to be suffering from fatigue following his marathon last-16 win on Tuesday over Jaume Munar but found his rhythm and overpowered his opponent.
The 38-year-old will face Monaco’s Valentin Vacherot on Saturday, live on Sky Sports Tennis, after the world No 204 continued his tremendous run by upsetting Holger Rune 2-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 on Thursday.
Djokovic is favourite to win a record-extending 41st ATP 1000 event as Carlos Alcaraz did not enter the tournament and Jannik Sinner retired in the third round due to cramp.
The other quarter-finals see Daniil Medvedev take on Alex De Minaur and Arthur Rinderknech play Felix Auger-Aliassime on Friday.
“[It has taken] pretty much everything. I’ve been trying to stay alive to be honest on the court,” said Djokovic, who last won a Masters title in October 2023.
“My first encounter with Bergs. He’s a great guy. He has a lot of firepower in his game. At times I just tried to play an extra ball to make him miss the ball. Very challenging conditions these few weeks for all the players.”
Bergs showed no signs of nerves as he shared the opening four games with Djokovic, who was not moving with full agility and continually bent down in between points, looking exhausted in the humid conditions.
Djokovic required treatment to his left Achilles and calf area in the third round but he played through any pain and began to overpower Bergs.
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A brilliant rally saw Jaume Munar win the second set as Novak Djokovic battled fatigue in brutal Shanghai conditions on Tuesday
He broke the Belgian in the sixth game to go 4-2 up, then, crucially, saved three break points to hold in the next game. Bergs’ inconsistent serve handed Djokovic three set points but he served his way out of trouble with three aces to extend the first set, but it was only a consolation as Djokovic held.
The second set was a tight affair with Djokovic only making the breakthrough in the ninth game to go 5-4 up but Bergs dug in to break back, with both players putting on a show for the crowd with exciting rallies and shot-making.
However, Djokovic broke for a second time and did not miss the opportunity to win the match at the second time of asking to seal a spot in the Shanghai semi-finals for a 10th time.
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