World number two Novak Djokovic became the first player to book a place at the Paris Masters semifinals on Friday after the Serb defeated seventh-seed Stanislas Wawrinka 6-1, 6-4 in 82 minutes. Djokovic, the 2009 Paris champion, still has a slim chance of finishing as the world number one player by the end of the season. His rival, Rafael Nadal, will clinch the year-end number one if he wins the Paris Masters title.
“[I am] very satisfied with [my] great intensity from the start of the match,” said Djokovic. “I try to be as aggressive as possible when I have a shorter ball.”
Wawrinka, who qualified for the first time at the ATP World Tour Finals, couldn’t find his range to pose a huge challenge to Djokovic.
“Clearly when he plays that good it’s very difficult, especially on this surface where he’s the best, I believe,” said Wawrinka. “Unfortunately he was a lot better than I was today. He put a lot of pressure on me and it was very difficult.”
Djokovic will next face fifth-seed and 2011 titlist Roger Federer in the semifinal on Saturday.
“Roger is probably experiencing the worst season that he had in last 10 years, but he’s still a player to beat in every tournament, because he’s Roger Federer, because he has won 17 Grand Slams, and we all know how successful a career he has,” Djokovic said.
“You cannot underestimate him. I think he’s playing really well. I hope that I just can continue on playing well the way I played today. I think it was better than the first two matches, so I have been gradually elevating my performance [and] the level of my game.”
