By Richard Pagliaro | Friday, August 14, 2015
Novak Djokovic saved two match points in the tie break roaring back for a 5-7, 7-6, 6-1 victory over Ernests Gulbis to reach the Montreal semifinals.
Photo credit: Arturo Velasquez/Tennis Canada
The lens doesn't lie and neither does Novak Djokovic.
Djokovic denied two match points in the second-set tiebreak then roared through the decider fighting off old friend and former practice partner Ernests Gulbis, 5-7, 7-6 (7), 6-1, in a wild Montreal quarterfinal tonight.
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Moments after rallying for his 29th consecutive Masters 1000 victory, Djokovic summed up a demanding evening writing these words on the court-side camera lens: "Very lucky."
The world No. 1 was also very tough and very determined.
The three-time former Rogers Cup champion advanced to Saturday's semifinals where he will face Jeremy Chardy.
The 49th-ranked Frenchman fended off an astounding seven match points in edging John Isner, 6-7 (9), 7-6 (13), 7-6 (4). Chardy withstood 32 aces from the towering American in advancing to his first career Masters 1000 semifinal.
On a night where his Masters winning streak was in dire jeopardy against a volatile opponent, the top seed turned up his game considerably when it mattered most.
"I did enjoy it. Honestly, I did enjoy competing," Djokovic told ESPN's Darren Cahill afterward. "I did enjoy this match even though I didn't enjoy my game. Credit to Ernests for playing an excellent match. He was always making me play an extra shot, and putting a lot of pressure on my second serve.
"First set, I was a break up, second set I just couldn't close it out. Again, on the other side he had a couple of match points. He would absolutely deserve it if he was to win this match tonight."
In fact, the 87th-ranked qualifier outplayed his former junior rival for much of the first two sets. Down a break early, Gulbis stormed back. He cracked a crosscourt forehand ending a 36-shot rally to break at the end of the opening set.
Striking his two-handed backhand with ambition, Gulbis worked that shot crosscourt and sometimes drilled it down the line saving set points before eventually forcing the tie break.
The former world No. 10 opened the tie break with a bang. Gulbis hammered a return to open with a mini-break, stretching his lead to 3-0 with a serve winner down the middle. Tension caused the top seed to tighten up. Djokovic tried to smile off a double fault, but compounded the miscue dragging a forehand wide to face double match point at 4-6.
Stepping forward, Djokovic smacked an inside-out forehand winner to save the first match point. On the second, he centered his shots, daring Gulbis to take the offensive. The Latvian went after his best shot, the two-handed backhand, but missed the mark down the line.
Gulbis saved a third set point when Djokovic netted a backhand, but donated a fourth set point with a double fault. At the two-hour mark, Gulbis netted a backhand as Djokovic survived the tie break, 9-7.
Taking a bathroom break to try to clear his head, Gulbis couldn't shake the torment of opportunity lost. He put a flat forehand into net to donate the break in the first game of the final set. Another forehand into the net gave Djokovic a second break and 4-1 lead. Djokovic broke again to seal a two-and-a-half hour struggle and keep his hopes of a 25th Masters crown alive.