Top seed and defending champion Novak Djokovic rallied to see off Frenchman Gael Monfils 6-7 (4-7), 6-2, 6-4 in the quarterfinals of the Shanghai Open while world number one Rafa Nadal also booked his place in the last four on Friday .
The Serb, who lost his world number one ranking to Rafael Nadal on Monday, defeated Monfils, conqueror of Roger Federer in the previous round, in a match that last two hours and 23 minutes. After twice exchanging breaks during the first set, the Frenchman bagged the tiebreak 7-4 to go ahead. But Djokovic fought back, twice breaking Monfils, who had to receive treatment on a stomach muscle.
Djokovic got the crucial break in the seventh game of the third set and closed out the match to set up a semi-final clash with another Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.
Spaniard Nadal was made to work hard in the first set of his quarterfinal against Stanislas Wawrinka, triumphing 7-6 (10-8), 6-1 to set up a clash with Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro in the semifinals.
Juan Martin del Potro breezed past Spain's Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 6-3 to march into the semis.
Tsonga also took a positive step towards confirming his spot for London with a comfortable 6-2, 6-3 win against German Florian Mayer.
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