MASON - Novak Djokovic wore down Lucas Pouille after an even first set, dispatching the Frenchman 7-6(2) 6-1 in a Cincinnati Masters quarter-final in Ohio on Friday. The match was much closer than when the pair met in the Australian Open semi-finals in January, when Djokovic conceded only four gaames before going on to win the title. It took Djokovic nearly an hour to prevail in the first set. The second was one-way traffic.
He will have less than 24 hours to recover for a semi-final against Daniil Medvedev, who continued his recent hot form, ousting Russian compatriot Andrey Rublev 6-2 6-3 in barely an hour. Richard Gasquet defeated Roberto Bautista Agut 7-6(2) 3-6 6-2.
Gasquet, who defeated Andy Murray in the opening round, set up a semi-final clash on Saturday with Belgian 16th seed David Goffin. Goffin advanced when his quarter-final opponent, Japan’s Yoshihito Nishioka, pulled out before their match on Friday due to illness.