Novak Djokovic obtained his ticket for the semi-finals on the Monegasque rock after a rough duel with Alex de Minaur on Friday.
The Serbian finds himself at this stage of this tournament for the first time in nine years.
He won without panache in two sets of 7-5 and 6-4 and in 2 hours and 24 minutes.
Winner in 2013 and 2015, Djokovic will face the Norwegian Casper Ruud (10th) on Saturday, finalist at Roland-Garros in 2022 and 2023, who won 6-3, 4-6, 6-1 against the Frenchman Ugo Humbert .
I suffered, but I’m glad I got through. Neither of us played at a good level and it turned into a physical battle, he said.
The statistics confirm his analysis. Djokovic committed 26 unforced errors for 13 winning points, while de Minaur recorded 28 unforced errors and 19 winning points.
In the second set, of the 10 games played, 7 ended in breaks. The world number one kept his serve twice and the 11th in the ATP, only once.
From the middle of the second round, the Serb also appeared to suffer physically, particularly from the heat. But he held on.
A win is a win and I’m happy to reach the semi-final. “It’s the first time I’ve won three matches in a row here in eight years,” he added.
Sinner suffers against Rune
Jannik Sinner was manhandled by Holger Rune in the quarter-finals, but he ended up winning in three sets of 6-4, 6-7 (6/8) and 6-3.
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Jannick Sinner in Monte-Carlo
Photo : Getty Images / VALERY HACHE
Last year, the Dane beat the Italian in the semi-finals. This time, the world No. 2 confirmed that he has been the man in form since the start of the year. He is on his 25th victory in 26 matches.
It took him 2 hours and 40 minutes to get there.
The 7th in the ATP almost made Sinner, until then intractable with his opponents, crack. His rifle shots on the forehand and backhand allowed him to conclude well-constructed sequences.
Facing Rune, who spent more than 4.5 hours on the pitch the day before, Sinner seemed surprisingly lacking in inspiration.
It’s never easy to face Holger, so I’m happy to have won, but above all to have been able to raise my level of play a little, said the Italian.
The match was more intense, there were more long rallies than in the first two rounds, he said.
His feelings were the best since the start of the tournament, he said. He will have to keep them in the bank against the Greek Stefanos Tsitsipas (12th) whom he will meet in the semi-final.
Sinner, winner of the Australian Open, lined up three games to close out the match.
The ball hit hard towards the sky while going to shake his opponent’s hand testified to the relief of the Italian who is usually so closed to emotions.
Tsitsipas sans forcer
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Stefanos Tsitsipas in Monte-Carlo
Photo : Getty Images / VALERY HACHE
Tsitsipas, winner of the Monaco tournament in 2021 and 2022, on the contrary, Sinner quietly qualified for his semi-final by beating Karen Khachanov (17th) 6-4 and 6-2 in 82 minutes.
The Russian called in the physiotherapist in the first round for pain on the inside of his left thigh. He continued the meeting without apparent embarrassment, but it may have distracted him.
Tsitsipas eliminated the Russian for the eighth time in nine clashes.
2024-04-12 17:42:08
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