Djokovic outclasses Monfils to reach semis at Montreal

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic of Serbia looked in his typical form in a quarterfinal match of the 2011 Rogers Cup, as he subdued fifth seeded Gael Monfils in straight sets 6-2 6-1 and sailed into the semi-final of the tournament.

As expected, top-seed Novak Djokovic looked in complete control in his quarterfinal match of the 2011 Rogers Cup, against fifth seeded Gael Monfils of France, as he dispatched the Frenchman in straight sets with a 6-2 6-1 scoreline and stormed into the semi-final of the tournament. Djokovic simply dictated the terms throughout the match and did not allow the Frenchman Monfils to make any comeback – at any juncture of the match. The Frenchman Monfils could only hope for some mistakes from the top-seed, but it did not happen, as Djokovic continued to keep things simple with his tremendous control over the shots and earned this victory in just 1 hour and 13 minutes of play. The Serbian earned 68% points on his first serve, as he mustered 18 winners and converted 4 out of 9 break points. Much had been contributed by Monfils’ 19 unforced errors, which did not allow him to convert a single break point, out of three.

After 40 minutes of play in the first set, the top-seed Djokovic clinched it with the help of two breaks. Djokovic played well, as he earned 68% points on his first serve, hammered 8 winners and converted 2 out 6 break points in the first set. The trend continued in the second-set also and in the end, Djokovic easily earned this victory.

In the semi-final, Djokovic will take on No. 13 seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who upset two-time Rogers Cup champion Roger Federer on Thursday and started off from where he left on Friday, as he posted a comprehensive 6-4 6-4 victory over eighth-seeded Nicolas Almagro of Spain to set up this clash with the top-seed.

After the match, Tsonga quoted, "I was a bit tired today. I lacked energy. The match yesterday took a lot of stamina, and today my energy level was low." He further added that "Therefore, I decided to focus on only a number of return games and try to focus on holding my serve. It was a way for me to save the energy I had left, not playing hard every game."

In the second semi-final on Saturday, top-ranked American Mardy Fish will take on Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia. Fish earned a three-sets 6-3, 6-7(8), 6-0 win on Friday over Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland. On the other hand, Serbian Janko Tipsarevic reached his first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 semi-final after beating No. 7 seed Tomas Berdych 6-4, 6-4 in 1 hour and 28 minutes.