Djokovic powers through to Japan Open final

TOKYO: World number one Novak Djokovic on Saturday cruised into the Japan Open final, thrashing David Goffin 6-3, 6-4.

In the final, Djokovic will face Australian qualifier John Millman, who squeezed past American opponent Reilly Opelka 6-3, 7-6 (7/4).

The Serbian star dominated his semi-final, starting strong by winning the first three games, picking up an early break while fending off fierce attempts by the Belgian to fight back.

Djokovic again picked up an early break in the second set, and survived all the four break points through the match.

“I think we both served extremely well and precise, not too much chance for returners,” he said in a press conference. “Even though it was a two-set win, the quality of tennis was quite high.”

Djokovic won points on 87 percent of his successful first serves and never committed a double fault in the roughly 90-minute contest.

Goffin fought bravely, but Djokovic kept up the pressure with deep shots and quick footwork to fend off any threat. In the final, he will face the 80th-ranked Millman, who is making his first career appearance in the final of an ATP 500 event. Millman predicted “a lot of baseline exchanges” with “one of the greatest players” of all time.