Second-seeded defending champ Novak Djokovic and fourth-seeded David Ferrer both won their matches Thursday, taking the last two spots in the men's singles semifinals. Djokovic defeated No. 7 Juan Martin del Potro in straight sets, 6-2, 7-6(3), 6-4. The victory preserved Djokovic's status as prohibitive favorite entering the finals and punched his ticket to his seventh consecutive U.S. Open semifinal and tenth consecutive grand slam semifinal overall. Djokovic took full advantage of service points, outpacing Del Potro despite the Argentine's notoriously fast serve. He also successfully converted four break points over the course of the match.
Djokovic will next face David Ferrer, who needed all five sets (and a fifth-set tiebreak) to finish off No. 8 Janko Tipsarevic 6-3, 6-7(5), 2-6, 6-3, 7-6(5). Ferrer did what he always does, limiting unforced errors, letting his opponent make mistakes and grind to a victory. Tipsarevic scored eleven more winners than Ferrer, but also managed fourteen more unforced errors. It was enough for Ferrer to come back down two sets to one to get the win after a four-hour match.
In the other semifinal, Olympic gold medalist Andy Murray will face No. 6 seed Tomas Berdych. Both matches are scheduled for Saturday.
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