BEIJING (AP)—Top seeds Novak Djokovic and Caroline Wozniacki powered into the China Open semifinals on Friday, while Chinese favorite Li Na earned her best result in her home tournament.
Second seed Andy Murray, meanwhile, was upset by seventeenth-ranked Ivan Ivan Ljubicic of Croatia, 6-3, 6-2.
Defending champion Djokovic, ranked No. 2, fended off all seven break points he faced while breaking Gilles Simon three times on his way to winning 6-3, 6-2. It’s the fifth straight time he’s beaten the Frenchman.
“I’m very happy that my serve is getting better and better, and hopefully I’m going to use it more and more,” Djokovic said.
The U.S. Open runner-up is enjoying a surge in form, crediting his semifinals appearance at Wimbledon with providing a boost in confidence.
Looking for his second title of the year, Djokovic will meet American qualifier John Isner, who upset fourth-seeded Nikolay Davydenko 7-6 (4), 6-4, serving 18 aces to the Russian’s one.
Djokovic beat Isner in their only previous match in March, but it took the Serb more than four hours and six match points to top Isner in the Davis Cup.
Wozniacki, to be crowned No. 1 for the first time on Monday, overcame a painful knee injury in the second set to beat former No. 1 Ana Ivanovic 7-6 (1), 6-3.
With her knee heavily taped, Wozniacki returned to the court at 3-1 in the second set and endured a late charge by Ivanovic to beat the Serb for the first time.
Although painful, the injury didn’t appear serious, Wozniacki said after the match.
“I don’t think it’s too serious so hopefully I’ll be okay, but definitely it was a bit of a scare,” she said.
Ivanovic, a former No. 1 herself, double-faulted nine times and broke the Dane twice, but Wozniacki applied more pressure and nailed three of 11 break opportunities.
Despite her new top dog status, it was just another day on the court, Wozniacki said.
“Of course it felt great to wake up this morning as world No. 1, but out on the court it didn’t feel different. I knew it was going to be a tough match,” she said.
Wozniacki next faces Israeli Shahar Peer, who ground out a 7-6 (4), 6-4 win against Switzerland’s Timea Bacsinszky.
Li gave the Chinese crowd something to celebrate with a hard-fought 7-6 (8), 6-3 victory against Latvian qualifier Anastasija Sevastova to reach the tournament’s semifinals for the first time.
The world No. 15 struggled against her 55th-ranked opponent in the first set. In the second, Li looked set to win at 5-2, but Sevastova broke her serve to stay in the game. Undeterred, Li promptly broke back for the win, eliciting a huge cheer from the home crowd at the Beijing Tennis Center.
“I wasn’t at all familiar with this opponent,” Li said. “You see out on the court I was playing a little tight.”
Next up for Li is second-seeded Vera Zvonareva, who made easy work of French Open champion Francesca Schiavone 6-0, 6-2. That was one game better than the world No. 4 won against the Italian on the same court a year ago. Zvonareva improved to 10-0 against Schiavone in a match that lasted just 54 minutes.
“Not the match you expect from a Grand Slam winner,” Zvonareva said. “I was really happy with the way I played and didn’t really give her a chance.”
Murray, ranked fourth, never seriously threatened, failing to produce a single break point while being broken thrice and firing only four aces to Ljubicic’s 12.
“I just didn’t hit the ball that well and made quite a few mistakes. If you’re playing against someone who is serving well and you make a lot of mistakes on your own service game, it puts a bit more pressure on you, so that was probably it,” Murray said.
In the other men’s quarterfinal, eighth-seeded David Ferrer of Spain surprised third-seeded Robin Soderling of Sweden 6-2, 6-4.