Novak Djokovic reacts after winning the men’s singles semifinal match in Tel Aviv on Saturday.© AFP
Novak Djokovic reached his fourth final of 2022 on Saturday when he defeated Roman Safiullin in straight sets in the Tel Aviv semi-final. Djokovic, 35, won 6-1, 7-6 (7/3) and will look to win his third title of the season and the 89th of his career when he takes on Croatia’s Marin Cilic or France’s Constant Lestian. Will fight Sunday’s final. Former world number one Djokovic took a 5-0 lead on his way to capture the opening set in just 23 minutes without facing a break point.
However, world number 104 Safiulin was far more competitive in the second set to make the ATP Finals for the first time.
He had two break points that Djokovic saved in the sixth game and the 25-year-old Russian had to pay off when the 21-time Grand Slam winner broke through for a 5-4 lead.
Taking the win after 94 minutes on the court, Safiulin returned 6-6 before Djokovic went through a tiebreaker.
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Djokovic, who won titles at Rome and Wimbledon this year, is currently ranked seventh and only needs to break into the top 20 to ensure a place in the ATP finals as a Grand Slam winner.
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