Novak Djokovic downs Nicolas Almagro to advance to last four – BNP Paribas Open 2012
Top seed, Novak Djokovic of Serbia, cruised past the 12th seed, Nicolas Almagro of Spain, in straight sets 6-3, 6-4 in the quarterfinals at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells on Thursday.
The Serbian came out victorious from the match in just an hour and 22 minutes.
Djokovic drew the first blood, as he grabbed a break of serve in the fourth game of the first set but Almagro came back immediately to reduce the trail to 2-3. The Serbian struck again in the fifth game and this time he consolidated
on it to construct a 5-2 lead. Djokovic served it out at 5-3.
The Serbian pounded three aces and captured 12 of the 16 first serve points in the opener. He maintained his supremacy on the returns too, as he converted five of the 11 first and five of the nine second ones into points. The 24-year-old
failed to save the only break point he faced but succeeded in capitalising on both chances he received.
Djokovic and Almagro captured their serve in the first eight games of the second set to level the score at 4-4. Almagro was lucky, as he saved four break points in the seventh game. However, the Serbian pressed the accelerator,
claiming two consecutive games to bag it 6-4.
The right-hander, Djokovic, continued to bombard huge serves, smacking a couple of aces and clinching 12 of the 15 first delivery points. The Serbian did not provide his opponent any break opportunity and availed one of the five
of his own in the second set.
Djokovic said, talking to the newsmen, "I had a very powerful ball striker on the opposite side of the net. He's very solid from ground strokes and has a powerful serve, but I knew that he's inconsistent with that, so I just needed
to hang in there, which I did."
The Serbian added, "It's definitely satisfying to play well. This is something that we all want to do, and we all practice very hard each day in order to play as best as we can in the official matches. At this stage of the tournament
it was important for me to stay mentally focused from the first to the last point."
Djokovic is just two steps away from defending his title. He defeated Nadal in the title match last year.
The Serbian will take on 11th seed, John Isner of USA, in the semi-finals.
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