MASON, Ohio — Top-ranked Novak Djokovic advanced to the Western & Southern Open semifinals by dispatching fifth-seeded Stan Wawrinka 6-4, 6-1 in their quarterfinal match Friday. Djokovic, who lost to the Wawrinka in the French Open final, will play either sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych or qualifier Alexandr Dolgopolov in a Saturday semifinal. Djokovic, the reigning Australian Open and Wimbledon champion, has never won a W&S championship. He is hoping to become the first man to win all nine ATP Masters 1000 championships in his career. Wawrinka, who needed three tiebreakers and 2 hours, 37 minutes to get past 7-foot Ivo Karlovic on Thursday, committed 27 unforced errors to eight for Djokovic. At 4-4 in the first set, Djokovic broke Wawrinka and went on to win the next five games, taking command of the match before closing it out in just 63 minutes. "I think maybe I'm a little bit empty mentally to stay at my top," Wawrinka said. "I'm generally happy with my tournament. I know where I am. There is a lot of positives to take from this week — winning two tough matches without playing my best tennis, fighting, staying there. "I think my level is there. I know and I can see where I am. I'm happy with the way and what I did this week. I'm excited for US Open." Djokovic improved to 18-4 in his career against Wawrinka. Serena, Federer dazzle Novak Djokovic smacked his racket on the court after losing serve, seemingly headed for another unexplainable loss at a tournament that has eluded him. In the end, he stopped fuming and started playing like the best. The top-ranked Serb rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the final set to a 6-4, 2-6, 6-3 victory over David Goffin Thursday, reaching the quarterfinals of the Western & Southern Open. Third-seeded Andy Murray also needed a late surge. He recovered from a 5-2 deficit in the third set, survived a match point, and pulled out a 4-6, 7-6 (3), 7-5 victory over Grigor Dimitrov in a match that lasted 2 hours, 58 minutes. Serena Williams moved on to the quarterfinals as well, losing only two games in her lopsided match. She's the tournament's defending champion. Djokovic has never won Cincinnati. He's trying to become the first player to win all nine ATP Masters events in a career. “It was a solid first set, but whatever happened in the next 45 minutes — I don't want to remember it,” Djokovic said. “I wasn't on the court. You know, I just lost the intensity and concentration. Luckily for me, I managed to bounce back, dig myself out of this hole I was in.” With things falling apart in the second set, Djokovic slammed his racket three times, drawing a warning. And it kept getting worse against Goffin, a 24-year-old Belgian who is 1-20 against top-10 players. Finally, Djokovic pulled himself together and pulled it out. Djokovic will face fifth-seeded Stan Wawrinka, who beat him for the French Open title. Wawrinka pulled out a 6-7 (2), 7-6 (5), 7-6 (5) win after Ivo Karlovic double-faulted on match point. Murray beat Djokovic to win the title in Montreal Sunday. He'll play Richard Gasquet in the quarterfinals as he tries to become the seventh man to win Montreal and Cincinnati back-to-back. Eighth-seeded Rafael Nadal lost to fellow Spaniard Feliciano Lopez 5-7, 6-4, 7-6 (3). Nadal, coming off a rain-delayed match that ended at 12:43 a.m., fell behind 3-1 in the third-set tiebreaker and never recovered. Lopez will play Roger Federer, the six-time tournament champion who beat Kevin Anderson 6-1, 6-1 in only 55 minutes to reach the quarterfinals. On the women's side, Williams needed only 54 minutes to beat Karin Knapp 6-0, 6-2. She lost just 12 points while winning the first nine games. Williams, the defending Cincinnati champion, is using the tournament as a final tuneup for the US Open, where she'll try to complete a calendar Grand Slam sweep. Her quarterfinals opponent is Ana Ivanovic, who beat Sloane Stephens 2-6, 6-4, 6-1. A right forearm injury forced Swiss teen Belinda Bencic to withdraw after she dropped the first set against seventh-seeded Lucie Safarova. Victoria Azarenka became the fourth woman to withdraw from the tournament when she had to quit her evening match against Anastasia Pavlyuchenkova because of an injured upper left leg. It bothered her as she won the first set 6-1, and she quit three games into the second set. — AP
