Novak Djokovic reached his 80th ATP Masters 1000 semi-final by overcoming Zizou Bergs at the Shanghai Masters on Thursday, setting up a meeting with Valentin Vacherot.
Djokovic, whose four Shanghai Masters titles are already a tournament record, is the top seed remaining in the competition following a 6-3 7-5 win over his Belgian opponent.
Bergs held his own early on in the first set but Djokovic, who struggled in stifling heat in the earlier rounds, converted his second break point six games in.
Djokovic then saved two break points in the next game before missing five opportunities to wrap up the set against the serve, though he did not make the same mistake with the ball in hand in the next game.
The second set was more evenly matched, with Bergs keeping it on serve until the ninth game. And even after Djokovic got the break he desired, the 26-year-old hit back at the first attempt.
With a tie-break looming, 24-time grand slam champion Djokovic dug deep to find another break, winning one remarkable point where he was forced into six defensive lobs following a series of downward smashes from Bergs at 30-30.
Djokovic then came through a two-deuce service game, which featured three match points and a break point for Bergs, to get the job done, and he will face Canadian qualifier Vacherot next.
Vacherot, who arrived in Shanghai as an alternate and was only admitted into qualifying due to the withdrawals of other players, upset Holger Rune 2-6 7-6 (7-4) 6-4.
Ranked 204th in the world, Vacherot is the second-lowest ranked player to reach an ATP Masters 1000 semi-final since the format's inception in 1990, after Chris Woodruff (550) at Indian Wells in 1999.
Data Debrief: Djokovic extends ATP Masters 1000 record
Djokovic was already the player with the most semi-final appearances at ATP Masters 1000 tournaments, but he has broken new ground with his 80th run to the last four.
Rafael Nadal (76) and Roger Federer (66) are the only other players to even surpass 50 semi-final outings at such events.
At 38 years and 133 days old, Djokovic has also broken his own record for the oldest player to reach an ATP Masters 1000 semi-final, which he set in Miami earlier this year.
And the Shanghai Masters is the second ATP Masters 1000 event at which Djokovic has reached the semi-finals 10 times, having made the last four of the Italian Open 13 times.
