Novak Djokovic: 'I want to apologize to Milos because I left the court'

In his tenth clash with Milos Raonic, world no. 2 Novak Djokovic grabbed the tenth victory at Rold Laver Arena on Tuesday night, beating the Canadian 6-4, 6-3, 7-6 in two hours and 49 minutes to reach his eighth Australian Open semi-final. Djokovic will now face Roger Federer for the 50th time, 13 years since their first meeting in Melbourne while Novak was still a teenager. Milos played well in the first four matches to win all the sets and service games, unable to repeat that against Novak who created 16 break chances, converting only two and missing the opportunity to finish the job much earlier. The Serb had 29 winners and 14 unforced errors, dominating in the rallies and doing more than enough on the return to seal the deal in straight sets, although he needed a tie break in the third to move into the next round.

The defending champion fended off a break chance in the seventh game of the first set and kept the pressure on Milos all the time, creating nine opportunities for a break and taking the last one for a 6-4. Serving at 1-2, Milos repelled three break chances to avoid an early setback, saving another one at 2-3 after a backhand slice error from Djokovic and creating a rare opportunity on the return in the game that followed. Novak saved it with a good serve and threatened again on Milos' serve before the Canadian hit an ace to get out of jail and level the score at 4-4. Returning in the tenth game, Novak finally clinched the break on the ninth chance, moving in front after 55 minutes and gaining a massive boost ahead of set number two. They both competed on a high level there, hitting more winners than unforced errors but with the advantage on Djokovic's side after five good holds and one break he earned.

The Serb grabbed that break in the fourth game thanks to a forehand winner, holding at love with a backhand down the line winner to cement the advantage and forge a 4-1 lead. The defending champion survived three deuces on serve in the seventh game and held at 15 at 5-3 with a service winner to open two sets to love lead after 100 minutes. Raising his level in the third set, Milos delivered three easy holds and created a break chance in game two following a backhand mistake from Novak who was not to be denied, erasing a break chance with a service winner and holding with an ace to keep his serve intact. Raonic had to save four break points in the 11th game, staying on the positive side of the scoreboard until the tie break that Djokovic claimed 7-1 to seal the deal and move into the semis. After the eighth game of the third set, Novak was forced to leave the court for a couple of minutes and change contact lenses, apologizing to both Milos and the crowd for doing that outside the changeover but explaining he struggled with the sight in a previous couple of games, having to replace the lenses as soon as possible.

"I want to apologize to Milos once again because I had to leave the court outside the changeover break; you don't see that often and I also apologize to the crowd as well. It wasn't intentional or tactical, it was something that I just had to do because in those few games I couldn't see much and had to change my lenses." 

from Tennis World USA https://ift.tt/38MwZQ3