There's a guaranteed Serbian semi-finalist at the US Open as Novak Djokovic takes on Janko Tipsarevic.
Djokovic missed six set points but he eventually got past Alexandr Dolgopolov 7-6, 6-4, 6-2 after a marathon opening set which went all the way to 16-14. It's the closest Djokovic has come to dropping a set at this tournament and now he has the admittedly strange experience of taking on close friend and Davis Cup team-mate Tipsarevic."We are professionals," Djokovic told the media. "Certainly we both want to win the match when we play against each other. So you kind of forget about friendship. You put that aside. You know, we never played Grand Slam, though. We never played best of five against each other, so it's going to be a first time experience for both of us. I think it's his first quarter-finals ever in Grand Slam. He's playing the best tennis of his life. He's very confident. But there is certainly this mentally strange feeling when you're playing somebody that is one of your best friends in the private life, as well. So you got to handle that, as well."
Djokovic has won both their past matches but Tipsarevic has given him his fair share of problems, pushing him to three sets on the grass of Queens in 2008 and in Belgrade a year later. However that was two years ago and Djokovic is a vastly improved player now compared to then. He's had few problems when playing Viktor Troicki this year, handing out several one-sided beatings.
"We were supposed to play semis in Belgrade, but because of injury I didn't go on court," Tipsarevic said. "I remember that the longer the match was progressing that he was playing much better. I'm not saying I'm gonna try and keep it short because it's obviously impossible, but, you know, I remember in both matches that I started really well and then I kind of backed -- went back like for a few meters, and then it's just not the way. You really need to go for your shots and use the opportunities that you have if you want to have a chance against this guy."
It's been one of the best tournaments of Tipsarevic's career. He's taken out Tomas Berdych and Juan Carlos Ferrero but even his most fanatical fans will have to admit he has fairly little chance in this one given how the top seed is playing.