Medvedev, Djokovic to square off in Kazakh semi-final

Novak Djokovic and Daniil Medvedev earned straight-set success on Friday to set up a high-profile semi-final between former No. 1 players at the ATP 500 event in Kazakhstan.

Medvedev was ruthless in a 6-1, 6-1 hammering of Roberto Bautista Agut which took a mere 66 minutes, with the second seed breaking the Spaniard six times.

Djokovic continued to storm past opponents since returning to tennis this autumn, defeating Karen Khachanov 6-4, 6-3.

Djokovic and Medvedev last played in the final at Paris Bercy 11 months ago, with the Serb taking the victory.

Medvedev ignored his 1-4 record against Bautista Agut heading into their quarter-final.

“I’m happy to play the right game, to be really solid and to do everything I can to make his life difficult and I am really happy to beat him,” the winner said after his 40th victory of the season .

“I tried to mix it up as it is not easy to play against Roberto. I tried to mix it up and surprise him a little bit and it worked very well.”

He added: “I’m really happy to play against Novak. We have only played once this year, at Roland Garros.

“We will meet again, I’m really happy.”

Djokovic handed out another quick defeat as he went past Khachanov for his seventh victory in a row after winning the title last week in Israel.

“I didn’t play as well from the baseline as I did in the first two matches, but still it was enough,” Djokovic said.

“I managed to produce some good tennis when it was the most needed in both sets.”

The loss was another blow to Khachanov, who has dropped his last 20 matches against Top 10 opposition and has gone down to Djokovic in seven of eight attempts.