Novak Djokovic dropped his first set of the Italian Open but recovered to beat qualifier Dominik Koepfer and reach the semi-finals in Rome.
The omens were certainly not good for German Koepfer when he lost the first four games of the match, but he responded by breaking Djokovic twice in a row to serve notice that this might not be a straightforward afternoon for the world number one.
Djokovic moved 3-1 ahead in the second set but smashed his racket to the court after dropping serve in the next game.
The world No. 1 continues his quest in Rome! 👊@DjokerNole | #IBI20 pic.twitter.com/eNy8FAKFjj — US Open Tennis (@usopen) September 19, 2020
Koepfer capitalised to level the match but Djokovic kept his cool and eventually came through 6-3 4-6 6-3 to set up a clash with Norwegian Casper Ruud.
There will inevitably be heightened attention on Djokovic’s behaviour on-court following his US Open default, and he said of his loss of composure against Koepfer: “Let me tell you that it’s not the first nor the last racket that I’ll break in my career.
“I have done it before. I’ll probably do it again. I don’t want to do it, but when it comes, it happens. That’s how I release sometimes my anger.
“And it’s definitely not the best message out there, especially for the young tennis players looking at me. I don’t encourage that, definitely. But, look, we’re all people. We all do our best.”
It will be Djokovic’s 69th semi-final at Masters level and 11th in Rome alone, but this is new territory for Ruud.
The 21-year-old became the first Norwegian player to make the semi-finals at this level with a 4-6 6-3 7-6 (5) victory over Italian number one Matteo Berrettini.
Ruud said: “This is my first time in the semi-finals, and today was even my first time in the quarter-finals. I’m just enjoying the moment. I’m in a good flow. I have gained good confidence in my game this week.
“I have just been motivated and pumped up for the clay to start again, and it’s a different time than what it usually is, but it’s still the same beautiful place, same beautiful venue and beautiful city.”
