Djokovic Cruises and Amuses Into U.S. Open Semifinals

Novak Djokovic wowed tennis fans last night at the U.S. Open, both on and off the court. The No. 3 seed dispatched No. 17 Carlos Moya 6-4, 7-6, 6-1 in workman-like fashion to reach his third consecutive Grand Slam semifinal, and then had the crowd in stitches doing spot-on impersonations of Maria Sharapova and Rafael Nadal after the match. So the semifinal pairings for Super Saturday are set. No. 1 Roger Federer plays No. 4 Nikolay Davydenko of Russia and Djokovic meets the 15th seed, David Ferrer, who upset fellow Spaniard Nadal, the 2nd seed, in the 4th round. Federer, appearing in his record 14th straight Grand Slam semifinal, has a 9-0 career record against Davydenko. The Swiss Maestro hasn’t fared badly against Djokovic and Ferrer either – he’s 4-1 against the Serb and 7-0 against the Spaniard. Djokovic defeated Federer a month ago in the finals of the Rogers Cup in Montreal. While it would appear Federer’s 12th Grand Slam title is a slam dunk, Djokovic has the best chance of the three to upset the reigning champ. The Serb has a tenacious all-court game, moves well, serves big, and is brimming with confidence. “He knows a lot of different ways to win,” said tennis commentator and former great John McEnroe. “This guy is the real deal.” I think it’s safe to say, Djokovic is no longer a dark horse. He’s knocking on the door and isn’t going away. It should be an entertaining weekend in New York.