TENNIS NEWS FROM THE SHANGHAI ROLEX MASTERS AS NOVAK DJOKOVIC TESTED, BUT POWERS THROUGH MATCH AGAINST BERNIE TOMIC

Written by: Staff on 16th October 2015

TENNIS NEWS FROM THE SHANGHAI ROLEX MASTERS AS NOVAK DJOKOVIC TESTED, BUT POWERS THROUGH MATCH AGAINST BERNIE TOMIC

epa04979601 Novak Djokovic of Serbia in action against Bernard Tomic of Australia during their match in the Shanghai Tennis Masters at the Qi Zhong Tennis Center in Shanghai, China, 16 October 2015. EPA/ROLEX DELA PENA |

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic came up against his toughest test since the US Open against Bernard Tomic on Friday in Shanghai, but the Australian couldn’t sustain it past the first set as Djokovic rolled to a 7-6(6), 6-1 victory to reach the semi-finals.

Djokovic came into the contest on a 14-match winning run. Not only had he won 16 sets in a row, but the Serb hadn’t lost more than four games in a set since the US Open final against Roger Federer.

Enjoying his best season on the ATP World Tour, Tomic set out to try and derail the Serb and showed good resilience and great shot variety as he rallied from a 2-4 deficit in the first set to extend Djokovic to a tie-break.

Bernard Tomic of Australia in action against Novak Djokovic of Serbia during their match in the Shanghai Tennis Masters at the Qi Zhong Tennis Center in Shanghai, China, 16 October 2015. EPA/ROLEX DELA PENA

The 22-year-old Australian saved two set points at 4-6 in the breaker, including a stunning backhand return winner on the second, but came up short on Djokovic’s third opportunity at 6-7, netting a backhand to give the Serb the opening set.

From there, Djokovic upped the ante. The Belgrade native raced to a 5-1 lead in the second set and broke down Tomic’s last line of defence in the seventh game, converting his fourth match point to prevail in 87 minutes.

“It was a very good first set,” said Djokovic. “High quality tennis from both of us. Especially Bernard played some smart tennis, stepping in every shorter ball, serving very accurately. He pushed me. Went down to a couple points to decide the first set in the tie-break.

“Obviously it was a huge relief for me to win the first set, and started off the second with a break. That gave me more confidence. I think I played a very, very good second set.”

The 28-year-old Djokovic is bidding to win the Beijing-Shanghai double for the third time, having lifted the trophy at this ATP World Tour Masters 1000 hard-court tournament in 2012-13. The right-hander triumphed at the China Open for the sixth time last week, beating Rafael Nadal in the final. It marked his eighth tour-level title of the season.

For a place in the final, Djokovic will face either Andy Murray or Tomas Berdych.

( Courtesy of the ATP and Original Link – http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/djokovic-tested-early-by-tomic-in-shanghai-quarterfinals )

Topics: Andy Murray, Atp World Tour, Bernard Tomic, Men's tennis, Novak Djokovic, Shanghai Rolex Masters, Sports, Tennis News, Tomas Berdych

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10sBalls_com says:

October 16, 2015 at 8:44 am

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