Djokovic Thrills Crowd to Reach Semi-finals in Tel Aviv
On Friday evening, tennis pro Novak Djokovic gave the crowd a show they are not likely to forget anytime soon, when he overcame his rival and close friend Vasek Pospisil.
The Serb managed to defeat the Canadian 7-6 and 6-3 to land a spot in the semi-finals of the Tel Aviv Watergen Open.
Hard-fought tussle
The 35 year old Djokovic who is ranked at the No. 7 spot in the world and has ambitions of regaining his position at the top of the rankings once more.
However, in the match against the tall Canadian who also has some Czech heritage, he did not have everything going his way and it was a rather hard-fought tussle.
As far as Popisil is concerned, he is currently at the 145th position in world tennis rankings and his promising career has struggled because of his back injuries.
But, his performance in the match was a great deal better and he put his opponent under a lot of pressure due to his piercing volley and powerful serve.
Therefore, Djokovic had to play his best tennis in order to keep up and continue in the game. As for Popisil, he had been a ‘lucky loser’ and it was luck that he was even playing the tournament.
This is because he had lost in the qualifying match and had appeared to be struggling because of his injury.
The first set
The match between the two turned out to be the best one seen in the tournament so far and gave the crowd the full value for their money.
Several times during the match, the crowd was on its feet and cheered both players on, hoping that it would continue for as long as possible.
During the first set, both of the players were able to hold their serves. The tie break saw Djokovic snatch a clear lead, but Popisil did not back down and came right back to level the scores.
However, the Serbian tennis ace was able to hold on and took it within an hour’s time.
The second set
The second saw both players break their serve in the early stages, but the play was truly enthralling as they battled from every corner of the court.
Some of the rallies were very scintillating, but Djokovic was able to make the vital breakthrough that eventually saw him land the win in about one hour and 53 minutes.
While it did appear that there was some pain for Popisil, but he did not let it get in the way of his commitment and passion to try to win.
There was not much to distinguish the two players for the most part, with each serving eight aces. Once the match came to an end, they embraced each other.
During his interview, Djokovic said that it was a great win. He added that Vasek was one of his best friends and they had known each other for many years.
He said that they both were professionals, so they were playing to win.
