Novak Djokovic Knocks Out Marin Cilic For Monte Carlo Masters Semi-finals

novak djokovic knocks out marin cilic for semi finals monte carlo masters 2015

novak djokovic knocks out marin cilic for semi finals monte carlo masters 2015

It’s not such a surprise that Novak Djokovic has taken out yet another hurdle in the form of Marin Cilic in his attempt at taking another back to back to back Opens title with the 2015 Monte Carlo Masters. The number one worldwide tennis star is on a mission to continue breaking records to leave his stamp on the world of tennis for many years to come. He knocked Cilic out of the Open in two sets 6-0, 6-3 and now is headed to take on Rafael Nadal, who seems just as determined to not leave this open empty handed as he did with the 2015 Miami Open.

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic moved to a perfect 12-0 record over Marin Cilic on Friday at theMonte-Carlo Rolex Masters as he reached the semi-finals with a 6-0, 6-3 victory.

“The first set went completely my way,” said Djokovic, who won the first eight games of the match. “I knew he was going to start to change some things in his game so he could start to play a little bit better. But I made a crucial break at the beginning of the second. The first eight games were really fantastic. I tried to keep it up, [but] I did drop in the concentration a little bit.”

marin cilic tries to return novak djokovic serve monte carlo masters 2015

The Serb will face either eight-time champion Rafael Nadal or David Ferrer on Saturday as he bids to reach the final at the Monte-Carlo Country Club for the fourth time. He finished runner-up in 2009 and 2012 before lifting the trophy in 2013 with victory over Nadal.

“It’s probably the biggest clay court challenge you can have, playing against Nadal or Ferrer. Both of these guys have had so much success on this surface, especially Rafa, this tournament in particular.

“I [have] got to prepare myself mentally for that. Other than the mental part, I think physically I’m ready. I’m not exhausted. I haven’t spent too much time on the court. Also, I’m feeling the ball really well. Hopefully, I can perform well. I know that I’m going to need to keep the high level of performance throughout the entire match tomorrow.”

The 27-year-old Djokovic is currently on a 15-match winning streak after becoming the first player to complete a third Indian Wells-Miami sweep during the March Masters.

The Belgrade native, who also won his eighth Grand Slam championship at the Australian Open (d. Murray), has lost just two matches this season (28-2 mark) and is looking to become the first player to win the first three ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles of the year.

The eighth-seeded Cilic was playing just his second tournament of the season after recovering from a right shoulder injury. The Croat had upset Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Thursday to reach the quarter-finals here for the first time in eight appearances.