Novak Djokovic back to his best as he eases past Dominic Thiem in straight sets to advance to Madrid Open final
- Novak Djokovic put in his best performance since winning the Australian Open
- He awaits the winner of Rafael Nadal and Stefanos Tsitsipas in the other match
- Djokovic was at his most unyielding in fending off the Austrian Dominic Thiem
Novak Djokovic is starting to look ominously belligerent as the French Open approaches, scoring a brilliant victory to beat Dominic Thiem and reach the Madrid Open final.
The world number one put in his best performance since winning the Australian Open to edge through a high class semi-final 7-6 7-6. He awaits the winner of Saturday’s second match between Rafael Nadal and Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece.
Djokovic was at his most unyielding in fending off the Austrian who is regarded as the man most likely to beat either him or Nadal at Roland Garros this month.
Novak Djokovic is starting to look ominously belligerent as the French Open approaches
A break down in both sets, the 31 year-old Serb gave his young rival a lesson in stepping up on the big points. He nailed all three of his break opportunities while fighting off seven of the ten break chances that Thiem created.
Docked a first serve for a second time violation, Djokovic’s defensive play in the tiebreaks was little short of miraculous, and he took them 7-2 and 7-4.
He has looked somewhat vulnerable since hammering Nadal to win in Australia, but with two weeks to go before the French Open seems to be zoning in perfectly for the attempt to win a fourth straight Grand Slam.
Simona Halep was last night trying to regain the world number one position when she tackled Holland’s Kiki Bertens in the women’s final.
Djokovic scored a brilliant victory to beat Dominic Thiem and reach the Madrid Open final