Djokovic, Murray win at China Open; Serena quits
text_fieldsBeijing: Top-ranked Novak Djokovic defeated Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 6-2, 6-4 to reach the China Open semifinals and extend his winning streak at the tournament to 22 matches on Friday.
On the women’s side, Serena Williams withdrew before her quarterfinal against Samantha Stosur with a left knee injury that raised doubts about her ability to play the WTA Finals in Singapore this month.
Djokovic dropped serve twice in the second set, but the fifth-seeded Dimitrov was unable to consolidate either break, making costly errors to give the breaks right back.
Djokovic also ended Dimitrov’s run at Wimbledon this year with a four-set victory in the semifinals.
The Serb next plays sixth-seeded Andy Murray, who beat U.S. Open champion Marin Cilic 6-1, 6-4.