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06/14/2009 HALLE — World No. 4 Novak Djokovic cruised into the Halle grasscourt semifinals on Friday while Tommy Haas set up an all-German clash with Philipp Kohlschreiber. Having had to fight off five match points against France’s Florent Serra in Thursday’s second round tie, Serbia’s Djokovic improved dramatically to blitz Austria’s Jurgen Melzer 6-1, 6-4 in their quarterfinal. “It was quite a relief after two not-so-convincing performances in the previous rounds,” admitted Djokovic. “I was in control, I just lost a break in the second set, but I managed to break him straight back for 4-4 and I was moving much better around the court.” He raced through the first set in less than 30 minutes as the hapless Austrian — the only other seed left in the draw — made a succession of errors. Melzer rallied in the second and broke Djokovic to take a 4-3 lead, but the Serb rallied again and served out the match to claim victory in just over an hour. In Saturday’s semifinal, he will now play Belgian qualifier Olivier Rochus, ranked 136th in the world. “I haven’t played him for a while and he beat me in the last match we had which was a few years ago,” said Djokovic. “His game is well suited for grass courts and although I might be the favorite on paper, I wouldn’t put myself in that category. “Philipp and Tommy are also playing well and it will be interesting to see how this tournament goes.” Rochus admitted he was delighted to be in the last four after battling back from losing the first-set tie-breaker to beat Germany’s Benjamin Becker 6-7 (4/7), 6-3, 6-3. “I was here last Friday to start three rounds of qualifiers and now I am in the semifinal, so I am more than delighted,” beamed Rochus. “I had surgery on my shoulder last October and I only came back in February. Although I did okay at the qualifiers for the French Open, this week has gone really well for me. “I haven’t been in the semifinals of an ATP tournament for a long time and so I am very, very happy. I have had a bit of luck in the draw, but I just want to go out and enjoy the occasion now.” AFP 
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