Novak Djokovic maintained his perfect week at the Tel Aviv Watergen Open in style on Saturday, when the top-seeded Serbian produced a high-class semi-final showing to see off Roman Safiullin 6-1, 7-6(3) and reach his fourth tour-level final of 2022.
Djokovic dropped just three points behind serve in a near-flawless first-set performance as he stamped his authority early in his maiden ATP Head2Head meeting with the World No. 104. Safiullin raised his level in the second set, finding his range with his powerful groundstrokes to break the top seed when he was serving for the match at 5-4, but Djokovic showed trademark composure in the tie-break to complete his third straight-sets victory of the week in Israel in 95 minutes.
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“I think it was a very competitive match, especially in the second set,” said Djokovic. “I must say I was quite emotional on the court today in the second set, there was a lot of tension, and that was also due to his aggressive style of tennis. Big serves, and when he has time, he’s so solid from the forehand and backhand corner.
“I knew that I had to stay very strong, and that he was definitely going to raise his level in the second set, which happened. I was serving for the match and played a couple of loose points, but credit to him for fighting back. It was an enjoyable evening on the court for sure.”
Djokovic’s all-around game proved too hot for Safiullin to handle in the opening set, as his clean and consistent striking from the baseline earned him an immediate 5-0 lead with a double break. Safiullin’s brand of high-risk, high-reward shotmaking was ineffective against the Serbian’s trademark defence and there appeared little that the World No. 104 could do to counter the Djokovic charge.
Yet Safiullin, playing in his second ATP Tour semi-final of the season, recovered well from the Djokovic’s first-set blitz and began to show the sort of form that had taken him past Arthur Rinderknech for the loss of just five games in the quarter-finals. The 25-year-old stuck admirably with the top seed in the second set, forcing a tie-break after claiming his first break of the match in the 10th game. He could not maintain his new improved level long enough to force a deciding set, however, as Djokovic stayed solid to secure victory.
“In the tie-break he helped me out, he missed a couple of forehands, but I stayed solid and played the right shots at the right time,” said Djokovic. “Of course, in the semi-finals of a tournament you can expect to have a tough opponent that will challenge you to the very last shot, which actually happened today, and I’m just pleased to overcome the challenge.”
Djokovic’s win takes him to his first tour-level hard-court final since his triumph at the 2021 Rolex Paris Masters last November. The 35-year-old will now take on second seed Marin Cilic or Constant Lestienne in Sunday’s championship match as he chases his third tour-level crown of the year.
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