DJOKOVIC, GASQUET ADVANCE TO TORONTO FINAL

Written by: Staff on 12th August 2012

DJOKOVIC, GASQUET ADVANCE TO TORONTO FINAL

epa03293754 Richard Gasquet of France returns to Florian Mayer of Germany during their fourth round match for the Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, in London, Britain, 03 July 2012. EPA/ANDY RAIN |

(Original Link: http://www.atpworldtour.com/News/Tennis/2012/08/32/Toronto-Saturday-Gasquet-Beats-Isner-In-Semis-Djokovic-Plays-Tipsarevic.aspx)

Top seed and reigning Rogers Cup champion Novak Djokovic won an all-Serbian matchup against Janko Tipsarevic 6-4, 6-1 on Saturday evening in Toronto to return to the final of the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event.

Even if Djokovic retains his trophy on Sunday against Richard Gasquet, he can not overtake Roger Federer for No. 1 in the South African Airways ATP Rankings when the updated rankings are published Monday. Djokovic holds a 6-1 mark over the Frenchman, winning their past four clashes.

Against his fifth-seeded countryman, Djokovic saved all seven break points against his serve and surged ahead in the second set with two breaks to win his fifth match in seven meetings with Tipsarevic.

The second-ranked Djokovic is bidding to capture his first title since he successfully defended his crown at the Sony Open Tennis in Miami (d. Murray). He is looking to snap a three-match losing streak in title matches, having fallen in the Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters, Internazionali BNL d’Italia and Roland Garros finals to Rafael Nadal.

After enduring frustrating rain delays again during the semi-final, Djokovic said, “It really could have gone either way, especially in the first set with the several interruptions because of rain; it was very important for both of us to start off well after those delays. You could feel that there was a lot of tension going on and we both were trying to find the rhythm on the court.”

On the looming final against Gasquet, Djokovic said: “Richard has been playing well this week… He wants to step into the court tomorrow and have nothing to lose and is motivated and wants to win. I expect a tough match.”

Gasquet defeated No. 8 seed John Isner 7-6(3), 6-3. Playing Isner for the third time, the 14th-seeded Gasquet won 83 per cent of his service points and converted the lone break of serve in the sixth game of the second set to advance in 81 minutes. He improved to 2-1 against the American.

“The key of the match was to return well, and I did it. I tried to return all the time to make him play,” said Gasquet. “Then I like to defend. But of course I had to do a big tie-break, and I did it. I played incredible in the tie-break and then I felt well.”

The 26-year-old Gasquet is through to his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 final since finishing runner-up to Roger Federer in Toronto six years ago. He is seeking his first title in 2012, having lost in the Estoril Open final to Juan Martin del Potro.

Topics: ATP tennis news, Novak Djokovic, Richard Gasquet, Roger Federer, Sports, Tennis News, Tipsarevic, Toronto Open 2012