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Djokovic, Murray reach Qatar Open semifinals

Djokovic took out Czech Radek Stepanek 6-3, 6-3 to reach the semifinals of Qatar Open.

Djokovic, Murray reach Qatar Open semifinals

Tennis player Novak Djokovic (PHOTO: AFP)

The world's top two players, Britain's Andy Murray and Serbia's Novak Djokovic, have advanced to the semifinals of the Qatar Open tennis tournament.

Murray, the world No. 1, beat Spain's Nicolas Almagro 7-6 (7-4), 7-5 while Djokovic, the defending champion in Doha, took out Czech Radek Stepanek 6-3, 6-3 in tough weather conditions on Thursday, reports Efe news agency.

"It was obviously very windy and it was blowing across the court a lot. That makes timing pretty difficult," Murray said. "It was hard for everyone today."

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The 29-year-old Scotsman, who won the title here in 2008 and 2009, will play third seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in the semi-final as he tries to advance to his first championship match of 2017.

Berdych beat France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the fifth seed and 2012 Qatar Open champion, 7-5, 6-3.

Djokovic, who fell out of the top spot in the rankings in November, sounded pleased with his play after the match.

"I thought in terms of my performance, under the circumstances, I put the level up again, which is great. So everything is going in the right direction," the 29-year-old Djokovic said.

The Serbian star, who has won 12 Grand Slam titles, will play Spain's Fernando Verdasco in the semifinals.

Verdasco beat big-serving Croat Ivo Karlovic, the sixth seed, 6-2, 7-5.

"He's a very complete player," Djokovic said, referring to Verdasco. "He's got weapons from the forehand side, big serve (and he's) very strong."

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