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World No. 1 to meet Bautista Agut in semi-finals

Novak Djokovic charged into a record-equalling eighth Western & Southern Open semi-final on Wednesday, beating Jan-Lennard Struff 6-3, 6-1.

The World No. 1 tied Jimmy Connors, Stefan Edberg, Roger Federer and Bill Talbert’s semi-final totals at the ATP Masters 1000 event after 62 minutes, converting five of nine break points. Djokovic is seeking his second Western & Southern Open trophy after completing the Career Golden Masters at the event in 2018.

Djokovic is now two wins away from creating further history at the tournament. If the 33-year-old lifts the trophy on Friday, he will equal Rafael Nadal’s record haul of 35 Masters 1000 trophies.

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Djokovic unbeaten run now stands at 24 matches, which includes a 21-0 record this season. The 17-time Grand Slam champion is making his fourth ATP Tour appearance of the year, having lifted titles at the ATP Cup — as part of Team Serbia — the Australian Open and the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships.

Djokovic will attempt to reach his seventh Western & Southern Open final when he meets Roberto Bautista Agut in the semi-finals. The Belgrade-native leads Bautista Agut 8-3 in their ATP Head2Head series, but has lost his past three hard-court encounters against the World No. 12.

Djokovic fired a forehand passing shot winner and capitalised on a series of errors from Struff to break for a 3-1 lead in the first set. The 79-time tour-level titlist held serve with confidence throughout the opener and converted his first set point with a powerful forehand down the line.

Djokovic moved up the court and took advantage of multiple double faults from Struff to race into a 5-0 lead. The 2018 champion failed to serve out the match, but claimed a love service break in the following game with a forehand winner to book his semi-final spot.

World No. 1 to play Raonic in Saturday's final
Perfection is no easy feat, and Novak Djokovic’s undefeated record this season was certainly put to the test late Friday afternoon.

The World No. 1 fended off apparent neck discomfort and an unrelenting opponent to beat eighth seed Roberto Bautista Agut 4-6, 6-4, 7-6(0) in three hours, one minute en route to the Western & Southern Open final. Djokovic is now 22-0 on the season.

Djokovic only served three times in the final-set tie-break and each of them was an ace. Regardless of how solidly Bautista Agut played throughout the marathon, Djokovic went into "lockdown mode" when it mattered most to seize his victory. He has won 19 of his past 20 tie-breaks dating back to winning three of them against Roger Federer in last year's Wimbledon final.

For a large portion of the memorable match, Bautista Agut was doing to Djokovic what the Serbian does to the rest of the ATP Tour. The Spaniard dug into baseline rallies and forced the top seed to do something special to beat him. Djokovic carved many drop shots to try to get Bautista Agut off his game, and in many instances that didn’t work.

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Even still, Djokovic took control and appeared on the verge of victory when leading 5-2 in the third set. But Bautista Agut never went away, rallying to serve for the match at 6-5. But Djokovic did not panic, getting back on serve to force the deciding tie-break.

Djokovic snapped a three-match hard-court losing streak against the 32-year-old. Bautista Agut was trying to become one of only three players to win four consecutive hard-court matches against Djokovic, joining Andy Roddick and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

The top seed is pursuing his second Career Golden Masters. Djokovic has won all nine Masters 1000 events at least twice, with the exception of the Western & Southern Open. He is also trying to match Rafael Nadal’s record of 35 Masters 1000 trophies.

ATP Heritage: Milestones. Records. Legends.

The 33-year-old will play former World No. 3 Milos Raonic in the championship match, in which the Canadian will chase his first Masters 1000 title. The World No. 1 leads the pair’s ATP Head2Head series 10-0.

A key moment came at 1-2 in the second set, when Djokovic received a neck adjustment from an ATP physio. That seemed to give the Serbian a burst of energy. Instead of bailing out of rallies against the Spaniard, he increased his aggression and with his high level of play took the match from Bautista Agut, who was trying to reach his second Masters 1000 final.

Big Three lead the way in key serving metric

When we compare first serve and second serve performance, it is fundamentally an apples to oranges comparison.

‘First serve points won’ only includes first serves that land in, while ‘second serve points won’ includes serves that land in and out. If you evaluate apples to apples by excluding double faults and only count second serves that land in the court, you gain an even greater appreciation for World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in this specific area of our sport.

An Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers analysis of the Top 10 from the 2019 season on hard courts sees Djokovic leading the elite group of players with a lofty 66.4 per cent points won from second serves made. The other three players to all post above the 60 per cent threshold were Rafael Nadal (63.4 per cent), Roger Federer (62.7 per cent), and Daniil Medvedev (60.9 per cent).

The complete list of Top 10 players is below, including second serve performance with and without double faults.

Second Serve Performance: Top 10 On Hard Courts In 2019

Rank Player Second Serve Win %
(excluding double faults) Second Serve Win %
(including double faults)
1 Novak Djokovic 66.4% 59.4%
2 Rafael Nadal 63.4% 58.7%
3 Roger Federer 62.7% 58.8%
4 Daniil Medvedev 60.9% 54.3%
5 Alexander Zverev 59.1% 46.4%
6 Dominic Thiem 58.9% 53.9%
7 Gael Monfils 58.8% 50.9%
8 Stefanos Tsitsipas 58.2% 54.3%
9 Matteo Berrettini 57.8% 53.9%
10 David Goffin 56.3% 50.9%
When you include double faults when examining second serves, Alexander Zverev sits in 10th place in this list at 46.4 per cent. Two hundred and three double faults heavily weigh down his win percentage. But with double faults removed, Zverev’s second serve flourishes and he moves all the way up to fifth place in the grouping of Top 10 players.

This new metric provides a more focused way to evaluate second serve performance. Zverev’s second serve offers a very robust win percentage of 59.1 per cent without the double faults. It’s not universally his second serve and the shots that immediately follow that need improvement. It’s simply getting more second serves in the court.

It’s interesting to see Dominic Thiem, Gael Monfils and Stefanos Tsitsipas all grouped together so closely in the 58 percentile range in terms of second serves made win percentage. Matteo Berrettini and David Goffin are not far behind.

Second serve performance, and double faults, were an influential factor in deciding the 2019 Western & Southern Open final between Medvedev and Goffin. Medvedev won 7-6(3), 6-4, winning 63 per cent (17/27) of second serve points, while yielding just one double fault. Goffin committed seven double faults in the final, winning just 44 per cent (16/36) of second serve points.

If you subtract double faults from both players, Medvedev won 65 per cent of second serve points and Goffin won a healthy 55 per cent. By having a double fault filter on second serves, you identify that Goffin’s second serve woes didn’t occur when he hit it in. The problem was not hitting it in enough.

Djokovic completes his second Career Golden Masters
Novak Djokovic made history on Saturday, defeating Milos Raonic 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 to win the Western & Southern Open and complete his second Career Golden Masters.

Djokovic, who is a perfect 23-0 in 2020, is the only player in history to win all nine ATP Masters 1000 titles. Now, he has claimed them all twice. The 33-year-old also tied Rafael Nadal's record for most Masters 1000 trophies with 35.

It wasn’t easy for the Serbian, though. Djokovic got off to a sluggish start in the first set less than 24 hours on from a gruelling three-hour, one-minute semi-final against Roberto Bautista Agut. The top seed had to dig deep to find his best form, clinching his 80th tour-level title after two hours.

"I would like to thank my team for hanging in there. Tough match yesterday, three hours," Djokovic said during the trophy ceremony. "I would like to take this opportunity to say hello to all the Cincinnati fans and tennis fans around the world. We miss you guys. It feels quite strange to be in these conditions and circumstances, but we all hope for a better tomorrow and you are one of the biggest reasons why we play professional tennis, so hopefully we can see you very, very soon."

<a href='/en/players/novak-djokovic/d643/overview'>Novak Djokovic</a>

Djokovic entered the match with a 10-0 ATP Head2Head series lead against the former World No. 3, with eight of his previous victories coming in straight sets. But the top seed struggled to work his way into rallies in the opening set.

Raonic came out firing, playing aggressively with his forehand and pressuring the top seed with his booming serve, using the body serve to elicit weak replies. Djokovic double faulted at 1-4 to give Raonic a double-break, and the Canadian closed out the set without facing a break point.

"The first set obviously he was playing great, I made some double faults, handed two breaks to him," Djokovic said. "It's always hard playing Milos. He has one of the best serves in the game, puts so much pressure on your service games. He steps in, he's going more for his shots from the back of the court."


But like he did against Bautista Agut, Djokovic dug into Louis Armstrong Stadium and began to find his stride. As the favourite put more returns into play and started to neutralise the 6'5" right-hander's serve, Raonic began to misfire from the baseline. The forehands that beautifully opened up the court in the early going were suddenly missing their target. The Canadian was also made to run more rather than exclusively dictating.

There was a twist in the plot at the start of the decider, when Raonic broke in his first return game for a 2-0 lead. Entering the match, the Canadian had won 55 of his 57 service games (96%) for the week (96%), signaling trouble for Djokovic.

But once again, Djokovic raised his level under pressure, earning a “boomerang break” to get right back on serve. Then the Serbian tightened his grip on the momentum by breaking in his second consecutive return game. He played an incredible scoop forehand from deep in the court — a ball most players would not have retrieved — to keep a point alive, letting out a massive roar when Raonic made an error on the next shot.

Most Masters 1000 Titles

Player Titles
Novak Djokovic 35
Rafael Nadal 35
Roger Federer 28
Andre Agassi 17
Andy Murray 14
Pete Sampras 11
The ending was not straightforward, though. Raonic crushed a backhand down the line to earn a break point as Djokovic served for the match at 5-4. The Serbian hit a 69 mph second serve, giving the former World No. 3 a chance to work his way into the point. But after a few balls back and forth in the ad court, Raonic smothered a forehand into the net. Two points later, the unseeded Canadian sailed a forehand long and Djokovic lifted his arms in celebration.

It was a difficult week for Djokovic. He needed mid-match visits from the trainer for a neck adjustment in the second round against Ricardas Berankis and the semi-finals against Bautista Agut. But nevertheless he lifted the trophy in the first tournament since the ATP Tour was suspended due to COVID-19 in March. He will now have 48 hours' rest before opening his US Open campaign inside Arthur Ashe Stadium Monday evening against Damir Dzumhur.

"In the past three, four days, I struggled a little bit with my physical condition, but I managed to pull this one through," Djokovic said on court. "It was a very close encounter all the way through the last shot. It was anybody's game."

Djokovic's Masters 1000 Titles By Tournament

Tournaments Titles
Miami 6
Indian Wells, Paris 5
Rome, Canada, Shanghai 4
Madrid 3
Cincinnati 2
Monte Carlo 2
Raonic was trying to win the biggest title of his career. A victory would have made him the first Canadian to earn Masters 1000 glory. He is now 0-4 in finals at this level.

"What is that, 23-0?" Raonic asked Djokovic during the trophy ceremony. "Honestly if I start the year off 3-0, I'm pretty happy."

"It's great to have tennis back after such a long lay-off around the world, being devastated by COVID. It's great to have a lot of sports back and I'm wishing all the best to the people that were most closely affected by it all over the world, wherever they may be. I keep them in my prayers."

Did You Know?
Djokovic is the first World No. 1 to win the Western & Southern Open since Roger Federer in 2012.

Brain Game explains how the World No. 1 won the W&S Open title
The most dangerous situation in tennis right now is Novak Djokovic with his back against the wall.

The World No. 1 had just lost eight of the first nine points of the third set to trail 0-2 against Milos Raonic in Saturday's Western & Southern Open final.

He had the Canadian right where he wanted him…

Djokovic rattled off 11 of the next 12 points as he broke Raonic twice in a row and stormed to a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 victory that seemed highly improbable after a sluggish opening set and perilously falling behind a break to begin the third.

You May Also Like: Djokovic's Golden Rule: A Grandmaster Twice Over!
How does the Super Serbian do it? By swinging freely and peppering winners? By switching strategies and adjusting baseline patterns? The answer cuts to the core of why Djokovic currently dominates men’s tennis and will inevitably soon pass Pete Sampras to become second all-time with weeks at No. 1 in the FedEx ATP Rankings.

No. Free. Points.

When Djokovic turns the screws and his eyes enlarge like saucers when he is about to return serve, you can absolutely count on the ball coming back into play again and again and again. The conversation revolving around who would win the final started and ended with Djokovic’s fortunes being able to break Raonic, who had only dropped serve twice en route to the final.

An analysis of the three service games where Djokovic broke Raonic provides a snapshot of how Djokovic goes about his business when push comes to shove in the match.

Analysis: Raonic’s Three Broken Service Games
Raonic played 18 points in the three service games at 2-3 in the second set, 2-0 in the third set and 2-2 in the third set. He only won five points, with Djokovic winning seven consecutive return points in the third set from 0-2, 0/0 to 2-2, 0/40.

Djokovic ramped up the mental pressure on Raonic’s serve, causing it to miss more when he needed it most.

Raonic First-Serve Percentage
• Set 1 = 68%
• Set 2 = 67%
• Set 3 = 60%
• Three Broken Service Games = 50%

The pressure of the ball repeatedly coming back into play in the big moments forced Raonic to go for a little more, which in turn directly affected his first-serve percentage. Djokovic only missed three returns in the three games, breaking Raonic on the first Deuce point in set two, breaking him to love at 0-2 in the third set, and breaking him to 15 in the Canadian’s very next service game.

There were four ways a point ended in the three broken service games, and Raonic’s errors (10) totaled more than all three other outcomes combined.

Raonic’s Three Broken Service Games: End Of The Point
• Raonic winners = 2 points
• Raonic errors = 10 points
• Djokovic winners = 2 points
• Djokovic errors = 4 points

The average rally length in the three broken games was 3.7 shots. Raonic only won 33 per cent (3/9) behind his first serve and 22 per cent (2/9) behind his second serve. In the driver’s seat at 6-1, 2-3, Raonic started his service game with a double fault. It was a small crack that Djokovic pried wide open to break serve seven points later and sink his teeth into the match.

It’s important to note that Djokovic hit two winners from 18 points in the three games he broke Raonic. Winners are not the secret sauce of Djokovic’s current reign as the best player on the planet. Putting the ball back in play on any court against any opponent on any continent certainly is.

You don’t lose if you don’t miss.

World No. 1 wins, on average, a 'Big Title' every 3.3 times he competes at the level

Novak Djokovic has joined Rafael Nadal as co-leader for most ATP Masters 1000 titles after clinching his second Western & Southern Open title Saturday. The pair has combined to win a staggering 70 titles at the elite level.

In recording a 1-6, 6-3, 6-4 final victory over Milos Raonic to claim his 35th Masters 1000 crown, the Serbian edged further clear of Nadal and Roger Federer in the 'Big Titles' battle, with a 57th trophy at that level. A 'Big Title' is a trophy at a Grand Slam championship, the Nitto ATP Finals or a Masters 1000 tournament.

Djokovic has now won all nine Masters 1000 titles on two occasions. Two years ago, with his first Western & Southern Open crown, Djokovic became the first singles player to complete the Career Golden Masters in the tournament series history (since 1990).

Ahead of the US Open, which begins on Monday, Djokovic wins on average one big title for every 3.3 tournaments played. Nadal and Federer have both won 54 big titles, with the Spaniard winning every 3.4 events he plays. Federer's conversion rate is one title per 4.3 tournaments contested.

Read More From W&S Open

Novak’s Golden Rule: A Grand Master Twice Over!
New Look: Djokovic’s Stunning Second-Serve Success
Did You Know?
Djokovic’s win on Saturday gave him his 80th tour-level title. The Serbian trails Jimmy Connors (No. 1, 109), Federer (No. 2, 103), Ivan Lendl (No. 3, 94) and Nadal (No. 4, 85) in that category.

Current and Former Champions' Big Titles Won (Records Since 1990)

Player Grand Slams Nitto ATP Finals 1000s Total (Avg)
Novak Djokovic 17/60 5/11 35/115 57/186 (3.3)
Rafael Nadal 19/58 0/8 35/118 54/184 (3.4)
Roger Federer 20/79 6/16 28/138 54/233 (4.3)
Pete Sampras 14/52 5/11 11/83 30/146 (4.9)
Andre Agassi 8/61 1/13 17/90 26/164 (6.3)
Andy Murray 3/48 1/8 14/98 18/154 (8.5)
Boris Becker* 2/26 2/6 5/51 9/83 (9.2)
Thomas Muster 1/29 0/4 8/53 9/86 (9.6)
Gustavo Kuerten 3/33 1/3 5/67 9/103 (11.4)
Jim Courier 4/38 0/4 5/71 9/113 (12.6)
Stefan Edberg** 3/28 0/4 1/24 4/56 (14)
Marcelo Rios 0/26 0/1 5/56 5/83 (16.6)
Michael Chang*** 0/50 0/6 7/86 7/142 (20.3)
Marat Safin 2/41 0/3 5/87 7/131 (18.7)
Andy Roddick 1/46 0/6 5/75 6/127 (21.2)
* Becker's four other Grand Slam titles came before 1990.
** Edberg's three other Grand Slam titles came before 1990.
*** Chang's one Grand Slam title came before 1990.

World No. 1 to face Dzumhur in first round of the US Open

Novak Djokovic completed his second Career Golden Masters on Saturday by winning the Western & Southern Open. In doing so, the Serbian also extended his perfect start to the 2020 season to 23-0 and tied Rafael Nadal for the most ATP Masters 1000 titles with 35.

While making tennis history is important to Djokovic, he is focussing on the tasks at hand.

“I’m just trying to enjoy it and embrace the process. How long that journey is going to last and what kind of legacy I'm going to leave behind, that's on somebody else to really judge and evaluate,” Djokovic said. “But I'm trying to do my best. Obviously on the court with the goals and ambitions that I have, obviously I want to play my best tennis in Grand Slams and [ATP Masters] 1000 events. That's what I'm focussing on right now. And also off the court, trying to make the most out of the energy that I have preserved.”

Djokovic says that his unbeaten run has given him more confidence with each match. Seven of his victories this year have come against Top 10 opposition.

“I am trying to make the most of my career,” Djokovic said. “Trying to use this time when I feel that I am physically, mentally, emotionally, game-wise at the peak and playing some of the best tennis that I have ever played.”


The 33-year-old will chase his 18th Grand Slam title over the coming fortnight, which would move him within one major trophy of Rafael Nadal (19) and two of Roger Federer (20). At last year’s US Open, he retired during the third-set of his fourth-round match against three-time Grand Slam champion Stan Wawrinka. That broke a streak of 11 consecutive US Open appearances in which Djokovic made at least the semi-finals.

“I also struggled unfortunately last year with injury of the left shoulder, but it came at the wrong time, obviously, just as I was starting to play the US Open,” Djokovic said. “That's [when] I started to feel it. I didn't have obviously enough time to get to 100 per cent and hopefully go deep in the tournament.

“Even if I was 100 per cent, it's still no guarantee I would win against Stan because he's a phenomenal player and loves to play on a big stage and has beaten me in various Grand Slams and [on] various surfaces. But I always love playing in New York.”

ATP Heritage: Milestones. Records. Legends.

Djokovic holds a 72-11 record in Flushing Meadows, where he is a three-time titlist. But for the first time, he won’t be competing in front of any fans.

“[Arthur Ashe Stadium] is probably the most exciting, energetic, dynamic, explosive tennis court that we have in the sport with the fans and [23,000] people that fit in on that court. So I really am grateful that I got to experience so many times in my career the wonderful feelings on that court,” Djokovic said. “It is strange to see empty stands. The circumstances are very unusual. But we have to accept that, we have to deal with it and try to embrace it.”

The World No. 1 has done well so far this year at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center, lifting the Western & Southern Open trophy. He will look to keep that going at the US Open, starting with his first-round match against Damir Dzumhur (Djokovic leads ATP Head2Head 2-0).

“I think so far these couple of weeks that we have been here, the USTA and ATP and everyone involved has done a pretty good job making sure that we are safe and that we are able to compete,” Djokovic said. “Hopefully we can have another great two weeks and US Open.”