Novak Djokovic battled past a red-hot Nikoloz Basilashvili 4-6 6-3 6-4 to reach the semi-finals in Doha.
The world number one had to work hard as he neutralised a powerful Basilashvili to reach the last four in Doha and extend his winning run to 13 matches in Qatar.
A controversial toilet break after three games in the final set helped him reset and recover to edge past the inconsistent Georgian.
In the last four Djokovic will play Roberto Bautista Agut who powered past Stan Wawrinka 6-4 6-4 in his quarter-final.
It was a slow start for the Serb as he trailed by an early double break as Basilashvili broke through Djokovic’s defences with 142 KPH forehands.
After narrowing the lead from 4-1 to 4-3 the former Doha champion settled into the match, playing with a lot more confidence but unable to create anything substantial.
A comfortable hold in the tenth game sealed the opening set for the world number 21 who looked to grab one of the biggest wins of his career.
However the second set was much better from Djokovic as some very good defensive skills saw an early break of serve and a 3-0 lead.
The intensity was a little lost from the Georgian as there was an immediate and effective response from the best player in the world right now.
After saving break point in the final game, Djokovic held his nerve to force a final set and he was happy with his level in the second.
https://twitter.com/doublefault28/status/1080858236570558464
The final set saw Djokovic and Basilashvili share breaks of serve to start as the long and brutal rallies were telling on both players.
After the third game, the Serb went for a controversial toilet break which saw the shot clock stop its 90 second timeout, even though it was still running when Basilashvili had his break after nine games.
The reset break seemed to help Djokovic as he won the next two games to get the break advantage and lead 3-2. Cue the Basilashvili frustration:
https://twitter.com/doublefault28/status/1080864166032871425
Despite some more big forehands the Georgian had ran out of energy and another exhausting rally ended the match and saw the world number one reach the semi-finals in Doha.
After the match the current Wimbledon champion was full of praise for the Georgian, “I thought Basilashvili was playing terrific from the beginning. I expected him to,” Djokovic said to the ATP website.
“I knew that he’s playing probably the tennis of his life in the past 10 months, and he’s definitely one of the greatest hitters in the game.”
The Serb will be hoping to reach another Doha final when he plays Roberto Bautista Agut in the last four tomorrow.
