Staff Reporter.
Novak Djokovic battled past a spirited Zizou Bergs 6-3, 7-5 on Thursday to reach the Shanghai Masters semi-finals for a 10th time, setting up a clash with surprise package and the world No 204, Valentin Vacherot.
Djokovic also extended his own record of becoming the oldest player to reach the last four of a Masters 1000 tournament – the 80th time he has done so.
The Serb, who had injury issues in the previous round, vomited during his win over Yannick Hanfmann in the third round after struggling with the severe heat.
Temperatures have reached 35C, with humidity at 80% in the daytime on China’s east coast.
Asked what it took to reach the semi-final, Djokovic said: “Pretty much everything.
“It’s very challenging conditions for all the players this week. I’m glad to overcome this hurdle.”
Djokovic, who is aiming to win a fifth Shanghai title, quickly found his rhythm against the Belgian.
The 24-time Grand Slam winner appeared to be easing into the semi-finals after a comprehensive first set but Bergs broke Djokovic when he was serving for the match.
However, Bergs paid the price for constantly searching for winners, hitting 23 unforced errors compared to Djokovic’s eight.
“I should have closed out the match at 5-4 but I was too passive,” said Djokovic.
“He has a lot of firepower in his game. At times I just tried to play an extra ball on the court to make him miss.”
Djokovic will face Valentin Vacherot in the semi-finals.
Qualifier Vacherot, 26, defeated his highest-ranked opponent yet in 10th seed Holger Rune, winning 2-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4 as the Dane was struck by cramp in the later stages of the game.
Victory ensured Vacherot will break into the top 100 rankings for the first time in his career.
Meanwhile world number one Aryna Sabalenka set up a Wuhan Open quarter-final against Elena Rybakina with a 6-3 6-2 victory over 16th seed Liudmila Samsonova.
Elsewhere world number two Iga Swiatek faced stiffer competition, battling past Switzerland’s Belinda Bencic 7-6 (7-2) 6-4 and the six-time Grand Slam champion will face Jasmine Paolini in the quarter-finals after the Italian’s last-16 opponent, Clara Tauson, was forced to withdraw mid-match.