Djokovic survives #NextGenATP Mensik in Shanghai, stays on track for 100th title

Novak Djokovic survived a quarter-final scare Friday at the Rolex Shanghai Masters to stay alive in his quest for a 100th tour-level title.

The record four-time champion rallied from a set down to neutralise the threat of #NextGenATP star Jakub Mensik, earning a 6-7(4), 6-1, 6-4 win to advance to the last four in Shanghai for a ninth time. After a sluggish start, Djokovic clicked into gear in a near-flawless second set during which he won 92 per cent (11/12) of points behind his first serve, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

“We went toe-to-toe until the last moment,” said Djokovic, who advanced to a record 77th Masters 1000 semi-final. “I was fortunate to find great serves in the last game, a couple of aces, that helps. I didn’t serve that well at the end of the first set when I was serving for it. He managed to turn things around by playing a good tie-break.

“I stayed collected and started off very well in the second [set], I felt that we both had a physical crisis at the beginning of the set. We pushed each other a lot, a lot of long rallies. [It was] a tough battle, almost two and a half hours.”

Sealed with an ace ?

The moment @DjokerNole became the third oldest man to reach ATP Masters 1000 semi-final after Federer ?@SH_RolexMasters | #RolexShanghaiMasters pic.twitter.com/glxPE8KpU9

Bidding to become the third oldest ATP Masters 1000 semi-finalist in series history (since 1990), the 37-year-old took a stranglehold on the third set, surging to victory in two hours and 19 minutes. Djokovic will next face seventh seed Taylor Fritz, who earlier claimed a dominant 6-3, 6-4 win against David Goffin.

“I haven’t trained with him for a year and a half, so I could see today why he is one of the best servers we have in the game,” Djokovic said of Mensik, who hit 17 aces in the match. “He is only 19, the future is very bright for him. He knows that I am always there for him, whatever he needs.

“Jakub is somebody that I have been following for the last three or four years, ever since he played the finals of junior Australian Open. We like playing each other, we raise the level when we face each other. We’ve played a lot of practice sets and it’s always fun.”

After improving to 36-8 on the season, Djokovic leapfrogged Andrey Rublev into seventh in the PIF ATP Live Race To Turin. The Serb is a record seven-time champion at the Nitto ATP Finals and now sits 355 points ahead of ninth-placed Alex de Minaur.

Mensik, who was competing in his first ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final, defeated World No. 6 Rublev and No. 9 Grigor Dimitrov en route to the last eight. The 19-year-old remains fourth in the PIF ATP Live Race To Jeddah, in strong contention to make his maiden appearance at the Next Gen Finals.

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