Djokovic Sets Up Medvedev Cincinnati SF; Gasquet Advances
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Novak Djokovic will get a crack at revenge Saturday in the Cincinnati semifinals against the man who knocked him out of Monte Carlo, Daniil Medvedev.
Djokovic set up the meeting after dispatching Lucas Pouille 7-6(2), 6-1 in a much, much tighter match then their 1-sided Australian semifinal meeting.
Just like he did in the Wimbledon final, Djokovic played a perfect breaker, then broke Pouille and getting out of a 3-double fault hold, cruised to his 10th straight win, 9th straight in Cincinnati.
“I thought he played really well throughout the first set. We both held our service games quite comfortably until the tie-break and then I just stayed in there, very focused, didn’t drop my level. He did,” Djokovic said. “[He] double faulted and missed a couple of forehands and obviously that cost him the tiebreak.”
About the only issue was Djokovic received some quick treatment on his right elbow up 4-1 in the second. He did grimace on a serve minutes before the sit down.
Earlier, Medvedev kept his excellent summer going reaching his third straight event semifinal after pounding countryman Andrey Rublev 6-2, 6-3.
Rublev, who had just stunned Roger Federer and then went to Iron Maiden, couldn’t keep the ball in play as Medvedev won his 12th match in his last 14.
“He’s in form. He has a lot of confidence, not missing the ball from the back of the court. He doesn’t seem tired from that amount of matches. On the contrary, it’s serving him well,” said Djokovic of the Russian. “When you’re winning so many matches in a row, your confidence is high and you’re going for your shots. It’s going to be a tough one and I think it’s also going to be physical. I’m hoping for the best.”
Richard Gasquet continued his comeback easing past the favored and in-form Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6(2), 3-6, 6-2.
“I know how tough it was to come back,” said Gasquet. “I know the moments I had at the start of the year, so I just wanted to enjoy, to fight. Of course, it’s not easy to come back after six months out, but I’m here. I’m in semis tomorrow.”
Gasquet will now face David Goffin who didn’t have to hit a ball to return to the semifinals after qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka withdrew ahead of the encounter due to illness.
Gasquet and Goffin have split two meetings.
“It will be tough,” said Gasquet of the semifinal. “He’s a great player. He’s playing very fast. I need to recover now a little bit to be ready for tomorrow, because, as I said, he doesn’t miss. He’s playing fast, especially with the backhand. It will be a tough battle for me. It’s the semis. I have nothing to lose, so I try my best.”
SATURDAY CINCINNATI SCHEDULE
CENTER COURT start 11:00 am
WTA – [1] Ashleigh Barty (Australia) vs [WC] Svetlana Kuznetsova (Russia)
Not Before 1:00 pm
ATP – [PR] Richard Gasquet (France) vs [16] David Goffin (Belgium)
Not Before 3:00 pm
WTA – [16] Madison Keys (USA) vs Sofia Kenin (USA)
Night Session – Not Before 6:00 pm
ATP – [1] Novak Djokovic (SRB) vs [9] Daniil Medvedev (Russia)
WTA – [8] Lucie Hradecka (Czech Republic) / Andreja Klepac (Slovenia) vs [5] Anna-Lena Groenefeld (Germany) / Demi Schuurs (Netherlands)
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