Both players continued to stun the crowd in the tiebreak, with Djokovic getting the first mini-break with a stunning dropshot after a 26-shot rally. It was another mini-break for the Serb, who changed ends with a 5-1 lead. Auger-Aliassime handed a third mini-break to Djokovic as he sent a ball wide and the world No 1 closed out a 7-5 7-6(1) victory to advance to the semi-finals for the 12th time in Rome.
The win means Djokovic retains his world No 1 ranking, as he needed to reach the semi-finals in Rome or lose it to Medvedev. By holding onto the top spot, it means he will also be the top seed at the upcoming French Open.
The 20-time Major champion now faces Casper Ruud in Saturday’s semi-final, as he continues to seek his first title of the season. The world No 1 leads their head-to-head 2-0, with their first meeting coming in the same stage of the postponed 2020 Italian Open, as Djokovic won 7-5 6-3. He has never dropped a set to the world No 10, beating him 7-6(4) 6-2 at last year’s ATP Finals, also held in Italy over in Turin.
