Djokovic crushes Wawrinka to reach Paris semis

Reuters
Novak Djokovic of Serbia hits a returns to Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland at the Paris Masters men's singles tennis tournament at the Palais Omnisports of Bercy in Paris, November 1, 2013. REUTERS/Charles Platiau

PARIS (Reuters) - World number two Novak Djokovic hammered Swiss Stanislas Wawrinka 6-1 6-4 to reach the Paris Masters semi-finals on Friday. The Serb overpowered the seventh seed to record his 13th consecutive victory over Wawrinka and seal a semi-final clash at the indoor event against Swiss Roger Federer or Argentine Juan Martin Del Potro. Djokovic, the 2009 Paris Masters champion, had to battle five sets to prevail in his last two matches against Wawrinka but started fast to take a 3-0 lead. He never loosened his grip, breaking his opponent's serve a second time in the sixth game to quickly wrap up the first set. Djokovic wasted a couple chances in the second set but made the decisive break in the seventh game to cruise through. World number one Rafa Nadal faces local favourite Richard Gasquet in the evening session's first match before title holder David Ferrer takes on sixth-seeded Czech Tomas Berdych.