Novak Djokovic dropped serve four times before beating Robin Haase 6-4 6-2 to reach the Monte Carlo Masters semi-finals on Friday, saying he had thought about pulling out of the event following his grandfather’s death.
Playing the day after his grandfather died, the top-ranked Djokovic looked distracted at times against Haase. He missed a first chance to serve out for the match at 5-1 before breaking the unseeded Dutchman for the seventh time to seal victory.
The win kept Djokovic on course for a final against seven-time defending champion Rafael Nadal, who overcame a slight blip in the first set before beating Stanislas Wawrinka 7-5 6-4 for his 40th straight win at Monte Carlo.
“Today was a difficult match. I’m happy about the way that I played,” said Nadal, who next faces Gilles Simon of France.
Because of his tennis commitments, Djokovic will be unable to make the funeral back home in Serbia.
“No, it’s not possible. It’s a very sensitive thing to talk about really,” he said.
“Every religion has a different way of proceeding, the funerals, life itself.”
Djokovic next plays sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych, who took advantage of a wayward performance from Andy Murray to win 6-7 (4-7) 6-2 6-3.
“He’s a threat to anybody on any surface. Big groundstrokes, powerful serve,” said Djokovic, who is 8-1 overall against Berdych but has never played him on clay. “He knows what it feels like to play on the big stage. He had a great match against Andy today.”
Murray had no excuses for losing, having not even completed a set in getting past Julien Benneteau while Berdych was taken to three sets by Kei Nishikori.
“He played very, very well today,” Murray said. “Every time I lose a match, I get asked, ‘What did you do wrong?’ Sometimes the guy plays well.”
The ninth-seeded Simon beat No.4 Jo-Wilfried Tsonga 7-5 6-4 in an all-French match.