Defending champion Novak Djokovic overcame a spirited early challenge from American wildcard John Isner to advance to the final of the China Open on Saturday in straight sets.
Defending champion Novak Djokovic overcame a spirited early challenge from American wildcard John Isner to advance to the final of the China Open on Saturday in straight sets.
The 23-year-old Serb, the top seed in Beijing, unleashed an arsenal of crafty drop shots, sliced serves and explosive groundstrokes to defeat Isner in front of a sparse crowd at the Olympic Green Tennis Centre, 7-6 (7/1), 6-2.
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Djokovic, who has yet to lose an ATP semi-final match this year, struggled to find his rhythm, conceding an early break to the 25-year-old Isner, who won the longest match in tennis history earlier this year at Wimbledon.
But the world number two rallied back to 3-3, and the pair went to a tiebreak, as the big American was repeatedly caught flat-footed by Djokovic's blistering play from the backcourt.
The Serb's strong serving and deft passing shots allowed him to establish a powerful advantage and he sealed the set with a fine crosscourt forehand winner.
Isner never regained his confidence in the second set, and Djokovic steamrollered past him, blasting a total of 20 winners against just nine unforced errors in the match.
In Sunday's final, Djokovic -- the 2008 Australian Open champion -- will face either Spanish eighth seed David Ferrer or big-serving Croatian Ivan Ljubicic, who ousted second seed Andy Murray in the quarterfinals on Friday.
In the women's semi-finals, top seed and newly crowned world number one Caroline Wozniacki will face Israel's Shahar Peer, while local favourite Li Na of China will take on Russian second seed and US Open runner-up Vera Zvonareva.
Both the WTA and ATP are hoping to use the 6.6-million-dollar China Open to make inroads in the vast Asian country, which they see as a strategic marketplace.
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