Djokovic eases into Eastbourne semifinals

London, June 30
Novak Djokovic continued his Wimbledon preparations by beating American Donald Young 6-2 7-6(9) today to reach the semifinals of the Aegon International tournament at Eastbourne.
The three times Wimbledon champion survived two set points, one with Young serving at 5-4 and the other on his own serve in the tiebreak at 5-6, before clinching victory with his fourth match point after the American double-faulted. Top seed Djokovic — the highest ranked male player to compete at Eastbourne since 1999 — was the first through to the semis after an hour and 35 minutes on court.
“I enjoyed it, especially in the second set,” he said. “The first set went my way and I played well. I felt good on the court. This is the kind of match situation that I was looking forward to having, and I’m glad it happened today and I managed to overcome that.”
Konta beats Ostapenko, to meet Kerber in quarters
Britain’s Johanna Konta beat French Open champion Jelena Ostapenko 7-5 3-6 6-4 on Thursday to set up a quarterfinal with world No. 1 Angelique Kerber.
Two days of rain delays at the south coast grass court event left a backlog of matches with Konta, who grew up in Eastbourne and is Britain’s big hope in the Wimbledon women’s draw next week, one of several facing a punishing schedule.
The quarterfinal clash was due to follow only hours later.
Konta, set to become the first British woman ranked in the world’s top 10 at Wimbledon since 1984, had to rally from a break down in the deciding set to end her opponent’s eight-match winning streak. If Konta beats Kerber, who overcame Spain’s Lara Arruabarrena 6-2 6-1, Romanian Simona Halep could take the world No. 1 ranking by reaching the final.
Second seed Halep beat Bulgarian Tsvetana Pironkova 6-7(6) 7-6(4) 7-5 in her third round match.
Lauren Davis overcame eighth seed Agnieszka Radwanska 7-6 6-1.