SportsMall previews Saturday's Shanghai Masters semifinal between Novak Djokovic and Taylor Fritz, including predictions, head-to-head and matches so far.
A motivation Novak Djokovic Two wins away from a 100th title and aiming for Saturday's victory Shanghai Masters A semi-final against form Taylor Fritz.
The American has been dominant in China, where he did not drop a set, giving him his best shot at breaking his losing streak against the four-time champion in Shanghai.
Competition preview
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A shock appeared in the cards Jakub Mensik Djokovic bounced back from defeat to grab a first-set tiebreak, but the Serbian won 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-4 to reach his ninth Masters semi-final. event.
Chasing a 100th title, the 37-year-old is just two wins away from a fifth crown and his first at the ongoing event. ATP Tour win this season.
Mencic pushed Djokovic to the limit, firing 17 aces and forcing the Serb to drop a set for the first time at an ATP 1000 event; However, the Serbian's experience and resilience ultimately won the nearly two-and-a-half-hour match.
The result of Friday's quarter-final victory means the 24-time Grand Slam champion will contest his 78th Masters 1000 semi-final against Fritz, who will continue his impressive comeback following a poor season under his high standards, where he recently exited in the third round. Alexey Papirin In the final major of 2024.
An unblemished record against Saturday's opponent makes him favorite to face either Jannik Sinner or Thomas Machak in Sunday's final, but he should not underestimate the 2024 US Open final.
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Fritz's first match David Goffin Expected to go this far in three years, the in-form Belgian already has the better of two ranked opponents, Lorenzo Musetti And Alexander ZverevOn his way to face the 26-year-old United States player in the last eight on Friday.
However, the world number 7 saw off Goffin 6-3, 6-4 in 82 minutes to book his place in the semi-finals, where he will face the formidable challenge of unbeaten Djokovic.
Playing in another Masters 1000 semi-final again this season and making his first appearance since reaching the last four on Madrid's clay courts, Fritz will be aiming for a different outcome to his two-set defeat by beating his Serbian opponent in Shanghai. Andrei Rublev In that appearance in the last four ATP 1000 events.
advanced to this stage without dropping a set against Terence Atmane, Yosuke Watanuki, Holkar RuneAnd Goffin, the US No. 1, faces his toughest test yet against the former world No. 1.
His only win at the Masters came against soon-to-be-retired Rafael Nadal two years ago in Indian Wells, showing his mettle against one of the 'Big Three' members and he hopes his current form and a 2022 victory over Nadal will boost his confidence ahead of Saturday's semi-final.
The match so far
Novak Djokovic:
First round: Goodbye
Second round: vs Alex Michelson 7-6[3] 7-6[9]
Third Round: vs Flavio Copoli 6-1 6-2
Round 16: vs Roman Safiulin 6-3 6-2
Quarter Finals: vs. Jakub Menczyk 6-7[4] 6-1 6-4
Taylor Fritz:
First round: Goodbye
Second round: vs Terence Atmane 7-6(4) 7-6(5)
Third Round: vs. Yosuke Watanuki 6-3 6-4
Round 16: vs. Holger Roone 6-1 6-2
Quarter Finals: vs. David Coffin 6-3 6-4
Head to head
Australian Open (2024) – Quarter Finals: Djokovic 7-6(3) 4-6 6-2 6-3
US Open (2023) – Quarterfinals: Djokovic 6-1 6-4 6-4
Cincinnati Masters (2023) – Quarterfinals: Djokovic 6-0 6-4
ATP Finals (2022) – Semi-Finals: Djokovic 7-6(5) 7-6(6)
Paris Masters (2021) – Quarter Finals: Djokovic 6-4 6-3
Rome Masters (2021) – Round of 32: Djokovic 6-3 7-6(5)
Australian Open (2021) – Third Round: Djokovic 7-6(1) 6-4 3-6 4-6 6-2
Madrid Masters (2019) – Round of 32: Djokovic 6-4 6-2
Monte-Carlo Masters (2019) – Round of 16: Djokovic 6-3 6-0
Djokovic holds an incredible 9-0 lead and will be looking for a 10th win against the 26-year-old this weekend.
Fritz has historically struggled against the four-time Shanghai Masters champion, winning just three sets out of 24 against the Serbian superstar.
However, two came in a five-setter at the 2021 Australian Open, with the American coming back from two sets down to level the match, with Djokovic again taking the decider.
Fritz enters Saturday's contest with a 49-19 record and is aiming to record his 50th win against an opponent that went 36-8 over the last four contests.
We say: Djokovic wins in two sets
Despite dropping a set against Mencic, Djokovic is favored to continue Fritz's dominance with another straight-sets win to record his 10th win.
However, that result comes as the Serbian continues to suffer a non-recurring problem with his left knee, which has seen him bid for another Shanghai final against Mencic.
