Djokovic sets up semi-final with Federer in Abu Dhabi

The No 1-ranked Djokovic is coming off a 70-6 season in which he won three Grand Slam titles. The 24-year-old Serb ended his best ever season with two tired losses at the ATP World Tour Finals last month but got back to winning ways against the No 16-ranked Monfils.

Djokovic will face Roger Federer in the semi-finals today when Rafael Nadal will meet fellow Spaniard David Ferrer.

Ferrer earlier beat Jo Wilfried Tsonga of France 2-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2 in the $250,000 winner-takes-all six-man championship.

Djokovic, who blamed fatigue for an early exit at the ATP finals last month, said he was still not fully fit and probably needed another week or two to be match ready. But he said he has no plans to play any other warm-up tournaments ahead of the Australian Open which runs from 16-29 January – a strategy that served him well last season.

“I was working on some things throughout the match. I was trying to find a good rhythm and I think I was playing really well for this stage,” Djokovic said. “I am saying that as I am not yet 100 per cent ready to perform at this level.”

Djokovic said he looked forward to his clash with Federer, who received a bye to reach the semi-finals. “It is always a challenge to play Federer whether it is a tournament or exhibition,” he said. “He will always make you play well.”

The fifth-ranked Ferrer blamed his poor service game for allowing Tsonga to take the early lead before he won the match in just over two hours.

“It was a tough game. I served very badly in the first set. I did not have a good feeling,” Ferrer said. “But in the second set, I don’t know what happened to him. Maybe he was a bit tired. In the third, he also served worse.”

Nadal, meanwhile, plans to take several weeks off after the Australian Open to recover from a nagging shoulder injury.

Nadal said the injury surfaced before the ATP World Tour Finals in November and that he was still “not 100 per cent.” He only decided three days ago to defend his title in the two-day exhibition tournament in Abu Dhabi. “I had a problem before London with my shoulder and I had to stop for about ten days before the (ATP) finals,” Nadal said. “It felt better but again it resurfaced. In December, I did not have enough time to practice because of that.”

Nadal is hopeful his shoulder will hold up in Abu Dhabi and in Doha where he plans to play at the Qatar Open next week.