Djokovic and Murray Cruise to Set Up Epic Semifinal in Beijing

Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray will meet for the 23rd time when the two battle it out in the China Open semifinals on Saturday. Both players notched victories in their respective quarterfinal matches Friday to add one more chapter to the already stories rivalry between the Scot and the Serb.

Top-seeded and top-ranked Djokovic had to get past 10th-ranked Grigor Dimitrov in order to advance. He dropped just six games in the whole match as he cruised to the 6-2, 6-4 win to improve his record to 22-0 at the China Open.

After an easy first set and jumping out to a 5-2 lead in the second set, Djokovic relaxed a bit and allowed the Bulgarian to bring the frame to 4-5. On serve, Dimitrov had a chance to even the set at 5 but double-faulted on match point as Djokovic secured the win in an hour and a half.

“It was pretty slow conditions because of the weather,” said Djokovic. “It’s a bit cold today, which I think suited more to my style of the game. I was trying to mix up the pace, give him high balls to the backhand, serve efficiently. Everything worked well. The second set was up and down. But generally it was a good performance.”

Murray had to take on U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic in the quarters and faced no trouble against Cilic, winning 6-1, 6-4. The win marks seven in a row for Murray, who captured the Shenzhen Open title last week.

“It was a good win,” said Murray. “First set I didn’t make many errors. I played solid. I returned well. I moved well throughout the match. Second set, both of us had some opportunities. From my side anyway, there were a few more errors in the second set. But I stayed tough in the important moments and managed to get a good win.”

The win bolts Murray to ninth in the Race to London standings, one spot out of qualifying for the ATP World Tour Finals.

In the short-term though, he focuses on taking on a familiar foe in Djokovic. The Serb leads the head-to-head series 13-8, with the most recent coming in the quarterfinals of the US Open.

“He’s hitting the ball very well. Every time I play him, it’s a huge challenge. It’s a very physical match. A lot of long rallies, exchanges,” said Djokovic on playing Murray. “I do not expect anything less than that tomorrow.”

Murray, as expected, was just as complimentary.

“It’s always difficult against Novak,” he said. “His form here, he’s never lost, which is very impressive. I’m aware it’s going to be an extremely difficult match tomorrow….It’s going to be a good test and I look forward to it.”

While two members of the Big Four are playing some excellent tennis, another member is struggling.

Rafael Nadal’s comeback from a wrist injury took a hit on Friday, as the Spaniard lost the final two sets and allowed qualifier Martin Klizan to comeback with a 6-7(7), 6-4, 6-3 victory. Nadal was playing in just his third match since Wimbledon as he tries to make his way back from a wrist injury, and was unable to combat the powerful serve of the Slovak.

Klizan rattled off the final four games of the match to complete the upset and move into the semifinals. He will take on Czeck Tomas Berdych for a spot in the finals.

Berdych upended American John Isner 6-1, 6-4 to push into the final four of the tournament he won back in 2011. He broke Isner three times and converted 73 percent of his serves into points to secure the match in 74 minutes.