World number three Novak Djokovic stumbled into the final of the Masters Cup with a hard-won victory over Frenchman Gilles Simon here on Saturday.
The Serb lost the first set but clawed his way back, securing victory in two hours and 51 minutes 4-6, 6-3, 7-5, and will now play the winner of the match between Andy Murray and Nicolay Davydenko later on Saturday.
Simon simply would not give up against the Australian Open champion, clawing his way back from an early break in the final set to level at 5-5 after Djokovic failed to serve out for the match.
But the Serb showed all his quality to break back immediately, and this time he made no mistake, finishing off the plucky Frenchman with an audacious drop-shot to clinch the win.
Simon had gained an early break in the opening set and forced Djokovic to save four set points on his own serve at 3-5 before the improving world number nine served out for the lead in 47 minutes.
But it was a mistake from Simon in an otherwise high-class second set that set up the decider - the Frenchman double-faulting on break point to gift his opponent a 3-1 lead that he was unable to retrieve.
Djokovic dominated the final set, pressuring the Simon delivery on numerous occasions, breaking in the third game and threatening to run away with it, but Simon saved break points in the fifth game and had to come from behind again in the seventh to stay in it.
But somehow he leveled the match with the Serb feeling the heat, double-faulting to relinquish the advantage after battling back from 15-40.
But he continued to work his opponent over and Djokovic finally came through, converting the first of two match points.
"This match was so long, so there are so many things to say," said the vanquished Simon. "But the only thing is he was very aggressive, more than me. He was a little bit lucky sometimes, touching many lines, and finally he won the match."
Source: Xinhua
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