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Serbia’s Djokovic through to semis of 2024 Monte Carlo, chalking up another ATP record

The 2024 ATP Masters Monte Carlo tennis tournament is played on outdoor clay courts between April 7 and 14 and offers over $6.4 million in prize money

MOSCOW, April 12. /TASS/. Serbian top tennis player Novak Djokovic advanced to the semifinals round of the 2024 ATP Masters in Monte Carlo on Friday after defeating Alex de Minaur of Australia in straight sets win of 7-5, 6-4.

The Serbian tennis player booked a new ATP record by reaching his 77th semifinal of the associations’ tournaments.

"It was tough for both of us," the official website of the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) quoted Djokovic as saying after the match.

"He is one of the quickest players on [ATP] Tour," Djokovic said. "He gets a lot of balls back that normally 99 per cent of other players don’t."

"He did not surprise me with several passing shots. Particularly in the second set when I was up a break," Djokovic added. "I am very happy to be back in the semis. It has been a while," Djokovic said. "I love this tournament."

The 2024 ATP Masters Monte Carlo tennis tournament is played on outdoor clay courts between April 7 and 14 and offers over $6.4 million in prize money. The reigning champion of the tournament is Russia’s Andrey Rublev.

Djokovic, 36, shares the all-time record of 24 Grand Slam titles with women’s great Margaret Court. However, Court won 13 out of her 24 Grand Slam champion’s titles before the Open Era (since 1968). On the men’s side, Djokovic’s closest contender in terms of Grand Slam titles is Spain’s Rafael Nadal with 22.

In addition to his 24 Grand Slam titles, Djokovic has won 98 ATP (the Association of Tennis Professionals) titles, a bronze medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and the 2010 Davis Cup.

Last year, Djokovic won three of the four Grand Slam tournaments, not dropping a set in any of his finals appearances. He defeated Stefanos Tsitsipas 6-3; 7-6; 7-6 at the 2023 Australian Open, outplayed Norway’s Casper Ruud 7-6 (7-1); 6-3; 7-5 at the 2023 French Open in addition to his 2023 US Open win over Russian tennis star Daniil Medvedev. In his only loss on the biggest stage in 2023, the Serb suffered a five-set defeat to Spain’s Carlos Alcaraz at Wimbledon, which prevented him from completing the elusive calendar Grand Slam.

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