Novak Djokovic through to Eastbourne semi-finals after beating Donald Young
| Eastbourne 2017 |
|---|
| Venue: Devonshire Park, Eastbourne Date: 26 June-1 July Coverage: Live across BBC TV, radio and online |
Novak Djokovic had to dig deep to earn a straight-set win over American Donald Young in their Aegon International quarter-final at Eastbourne.
After taking the first set, the 12-time Grand Slam champion survived two set points before clinching victory.
Djokovic, making a rare appearance in a pre-Wimbledon event, took his fourth match point to win 6-2 7-6 (11-9).
“I am glad I overcame the challenge – it is exactly what I was looking for,” said the 30-year-old Serb.
The world number four will play either Russia’s Daniil Medvedev or American Steve Johnson in the semi-finals.
“It was a great first set and after that I had opportunities to break serve in the second and I didn’t use them, he broke my serve at 4-4 and had set points,” added Djokovic, who has struggled for form this year.
“It was a close second set and could have gone either way.”
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Djokovic, playing in his first pre-Wimbledon grass-court tournament for seven years, admitted earlier this week that 2017 had been his toughest year in tennis.
The former world number one held all four Grand Slam titles going into last year’s Championships, but now holds none of tennis’s major prizes.
He suffered a surprise early exit to Sam Querrey at Wimbledon last year, then was beaten by Swiss third seed Stan Wawrinka in the US Open final.
Djokovic was stunned by world number 117 Denis Istomin in the Australian Open second round in January, before losing in the French Open quarter-finals at Roland Garros earlier this month.
He has dropped to fourth in the world rankings after a turbulent year in which he has won only one title and split with his coaching team.
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Meanwhile, British number six Cameron Norrie, who has been given a wildcard into the main draw at Wimbledon, lost 6-3 6-2 against France’s world number 16 Gael Monfils.