Novak Djokovic progressed to his 77th ATP Masters 1000 semi-final – breaking Rafael Nadal’s record – following a hard-fought 7-5 6-4 win over Alex de Minaur in Monte Carlo.
The world No. 1 advances to his first semi-final in the principality since 2015, and will meet either Casper Ruud or Ugo Humbert in the last four.
Speaking after the match, Djokovic said: “It was tough for both of us; he’s one of the quickest players on tour. He gets a lot of the balls back which 99% of the other players don’t.
“He surprised me with several passing shots, particularly in the second set when I was up a break.
“He said at the net that it was ugly, and in the second set I think it was because we didn’t play at high level. We made a lot of unforced errors, with some consecutive breaks of serve.
“You kind of expect that for clay, but maybe not this many. Again, a win is a win and I’m glad to go through.
“I love this tournament; I know this club very well and I’ve trained for many years here. The last seven or eight years have been tough for me to win two or three matches consecutively, but I’m in another semi and I look forward to it.”
The first set went with serve for the first 11 games, with neither player giving much away in the opening exchanges.
De Minaur was acquitting himself well against the world No. 1 and swatted away a set point in the 10th game, in what was proving to be a bruising first set that had lasted one hour, with the Serbian leading 6-5.
The Australian was showing impressive resolve not to buckle under Djokovic’s pressure, before eventually succumbing after a fourth set point.
De Minaur was starting to lose his range and somehow missed a wide-open court with a routine forehand return, leaving the world No. 11 a set and break down.
However, it was Djokovic’s turn to miss a routine overhead shot, leaving the Australian with two break points.
He prevailed on the first with the Serbian sending a backhand astray, and this set also threatened to go the distance.
A fourth break in five games came and went as Djokovic sent a return long, as De Minaur stayed within range at 3-2.
Djokovic was clearly feeling the strain of this vigorous contest, and despite looking like he may have been pulling away at 4-2, De Minaur responded with an immediate break back at 4-3.
The Serbian was looking more like himself when he claimed an emphatic hold to love, moving one game away from victory at 5-4.
And Djokovic prevailed on the first of two match points to seal a last-four berth as De Minaur netted a return.