Djokovic cruises into semi-finals where Bautista Agut awaits

Novak Djokovic cruised past Germany’s Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3 6-1 on Wednesday to reach a record-equalling eighth Western & Southern Open semi-final where he will face Spaniard Roberto Bautista Agut.

World number one Djokovic took advantage of a series of errors by Struff to grab control of the match.

He closed out the 62-minute encounter with a love service break to extend his unbeaten run to 24 matches.

“It was great. I started a little bit tight in my opening couple of service games … Ever since I made that break at the beginning of the first set, I never looked back,” said Djokovic.

“I really played very aggressive whenever I had the chance and I was going for my shots.”

With the win, Djokovic tied Jimmy Connors, Stefan Edberg, Roger Federer and Bill Talbert’s semi-final totals at the ATP Masters 1000 event.

Earlier, Bautista Agut produced a stunning comeback to defeat third seed Daniil Medvedev 1-6 6-4 6-3 and reach his maiden semi-final in the event.

The event is being played at Flushing Meadows in New York, instead of Cincinnati, due to COVID-19.

Bautista Agut’s chances of victory appeared distant after the 24-year-old Russian cruised through the first set and had three break point chances early in the second.

But the 32-year-old Bautista Agut began to play freer, charging the net and serving with more confidence.

“After the first set, I was thinking a lot of bad things,” he said with a laugh. “I had to fight a lot in the second set. It was a really tough match.”