Djokovic is the only member of the so-called “big four” in the sport competing in Toronto this week, with last year’s tournament victor Andy Murray, Roger Federer and Rafa Nadal all absent from the $4.7 million event.
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Roger Federer is also absent as he is now on the injured list and fellow three-time champion Rafael Nadal is not at 100% to compete and wants to be fully fit for the Olympics.
Nishikori, who reached the final in Miami and the last four in both Madrid and Rome in ATP Masters 1000 events earlier this season, beat Dimitrov in a see-sawing encounter that lasted just over two hours. Djokovic ties the set with two straight wins in response, but Stepanek manages to retain his lead with a 40-0 win in the fifth game.
Djokovic suffered a disappointing third round exit at the hands of Sam Querrey at Wimbledon but he captured the Coupe des Mosquetaires for the first time in his career to secure the Career Grand Slam and his 12th Grand Slam triumph overall. Novak Djokovic was a cut above Stepanek in terms of the service game, as the Serbian wins 13 of 16 (81%) first serve points and 4 of 6 (67%) second serves.
The No. 2-seeded Wawrinka in the semifinals will meet the No. 3-seeded Kei Nishikori, who on Friday defeated unseeded Grigor Dimitrov 6-3, 3-6, 6-2.
Top-ranked Novak Djokovic beat fifth-seeded Tomas Berdych 7-6 (6), 6-4 on Friday to advance to the Rogers Cup semifinals.
A gorgeous forehand return from Djokovic froze Berdych on the next point, forcing him to net a forehand for 6-5, and a second-serve return error allowed Djokovic to draw level at 6-all.
Berdych had a 6-3 lead in the tiebreaker with two serves to his name, but when he double-faulted to bring the score to 6-4, things started to look ominous.
Monfils played a grueling, three-set match in the afternoon heat Thursday, while Raonic dispatched Jared Donaldson in just 70 minutes.
The third-seeded Nishikori will face No. 2 Stan Wawrinka of Switzerland on Saturday.
Canadian Milos Raonic took on Gael Monfils in the final quarter-final of the day.
Wawrinka has won three of his four meetings with Nishikori, but the duo have not met since the Swiss player secured a straight sets victory in the 2015 Australian Open. No Canadian man has won the Rogers Cup previously the Canadian Open since Robert Bedard in 1958.
Monfils celebrates a point in his victory over Raonic last night (Photo by Vaughn Ridley / Source: Getty Images) Who wins?
“I think I pick up a little bit more first serve, be able to play better from the baseline myself”.
Djokovic had dominated head-to-head before Friday’s match, 24-2. This is an intriguing match and I can envision a scenario in which the relentless Monfils upsets Raonic.
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Monfils exhibited his renowned athleticism in high-quality quarter-finals, putting his faith on his lightning-fast court coverage to grab the semi-finals spot after outlasting Raonic in 6-4, 6-4 victory.
