Djokovic suffers, but advances to the Monte Carlo semifinals

Montecarlo. Novak Djokovic qualified this Friday for the semifinals of the Monte Carlo Masters 1000, a round that had not been reached in the Principality since his title in 2015, but he had to sweat to eliminate the Australian Alex De Miñaur (11th), 7-5, 6- 4 in just over two hours.

Champion in 2013 and 2015, the Serbian had not advanced beyond the quarterfinals since that last title, despite having reached them twice (2017, 2019). On Saturday he will face the Norwegian Casper Ruud (10th), finalist at Roland Garros in 2022 and 2023, or the Frenchman Ugo Humbert (15th).

“I have suffered, but I am happy to have passed,” the world number 1 acknowledged this Friday, lamenting the low level of the game. “Neither of us played at a good level and it gave way to physical battle,” explained the 36-year-old legend.

The statistics confirm his analysis; Djokovic made 26 unforced errors and 13 winnersand De Minaur 28 unforced errors for 19 winners.

Especially in the second set, of the ten games played, seven ended with breaks: Djokovic kept serve twice and De Minaur once.

Midway through the second set, the Serbian seemed to suffer physically, especially due to the heat. But he knew how to endure. “A victory is a victory and I am happy to qualify for the semi-finals,” he celebrated.