Novak Djokovic scored his first notable Masters 1000 results in early 2007, reaching the Indian Wells Finals and claiming the title in Miami. For the next 15 seasons, Novak was one of the players to beat in the premium series of ATP events.
He won 36 titles in 53 finals and set many records that will be difficult to break in the future. Last week Novak lost the Rome Open final to Rafael Nadal after some challenging days at Foro Italico.
Novak became the second player after Rafael Nadal with 70 Masters 1000 semifinals, Roger Federer with 66 and the Spaniard on the exclusive list. Novak has played in at least one Masters 1000 semi-finals in the past 15 years, with a dominant run between 2014 and 2016 as he hit the last four of 20 out of 27 events!
Novak’s first Masters 1000 semi-final in 2021 took place in Rome after a hard-fought win over Stefanos Tsitsipas. Due to the rain, Novak and Stefanos had to fight for two days and push each other to their limits before the Serb prevailed 4: 6, 7: 5, 7: 5 in three hours and 16 minutes.
It was Novak’s fourth win in a row against Stefanos and he had to hold his level for two days and under different conditions. The Monte Carlo champion and the leader of the ATP race had the match in hand, played well in the rain on Friday and had the advantage of a set and a break against Djokovic.
Novak Djokovic is the second player to make 70 Masters 1000 semi-finals
They returned to the pitch on Saturday in completely different conditions and Novak used them to regain the break and gain momentum to force a third set.
The Greek stayed competitive, building a 3-1 lead and four more break chances in game five that could have helped him take the win if he’d converted one.
Novak won a boost, recovered from the break in game six, and was the favorite as the fight continued. Instead, Tsitsipas secured a 4: 4 break that pushed him one game off the finish line and secured him a place in the semifinals in the tenth game.
As many times before, Djokovic showed his incredible mental strength, recovered the break and earned another in Game 12 to be the first to cross the finish line and start a big celebration. 
–
