Djokovic broke the serve of the German number 117 in the world rankings with a 3-2 lead in the first set. He came back in the second set after trailing 1-3.
Novak Djokovic cries tears as he pays tribute to deceased ‘tennis father’: ‘As long as I play and live, I will celebrate his name’
In the final, the Serbian will meet the winner of the other semi-final between the American Sebastian Korda and the Italian Lorenzo Musetti, who is still in the race for a ticket for the prestigious ATP Finals in Turin.
201 and 101
Djokovic celebrated his 201st victory in an indoor match and can win his 101st title in the capital of Greece. The current number 5 in the world then comes closer to record holder Jimmy Connors, who won 109 titles in his career. Roger Federer was stuck at 103 tournaments won.
Rybakina first WTA Finals finalist
Elena Rybakina has reached the final of the WTA Finals, the end-of-year tournament with the best eight players of the year, for the first time in her career. The Kazakh number 6 in the world won in the semi-finals in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in three sets against the American Jessica Pegula, the number 5 in the world: 4-6 6-4 6-3.
Pegula won the first set, but then relinquished the initiative and lost the next two sets to 26-year-old Rybakina, who broke Pegula’s serve five times and hit a total of fifteen aces.
Rybakina, who won Wimbledon in 2022, will face the winner of the other semi-final in the final. That match is between Aryna Sabalenka from Belarus, number 1 in the world, and the American number 4 in the world Amanda Anisimova.