Japan Open 2019: Novak Djokovic beats third-seeded David Goffin in semi-final, to face John Millman in final

Tokyo: Novak Djokovic continued his dominant run at the Japan Open, overpowering third-seeded David Goffin in straight sets on Saturday to reach his fifth final this season. [caption id=“attachment_7455711” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Novak Djokovic at the Japan Open 2019. AP[/caption] Competing in the Japanese capital for the first time, Djokovic beat Goffin 6-3, 6-4 to set up a final with Australian qualifier John Millman who beat Reilly Opelka 6-3, 7-6 (4). Attempting to win a title on his tournament debut for the 10th time, the top-ranked Djokovic has not dropped a set in his four singles matches at Ariake Colosseum. After controlling the first set, Djokovic broke Goffin in the first game of the second with a perfectly-placed volley at the net. Down 15-40 in the second game, he fought back to hold serve and never looked back. Goffin was the only former champion in the draw. He had lost to Nick Kyrgios in the final in 2016 before defeating Adrian Mannarino for the title in 2017. Djokovic retired with a left-shoulder injury during his fourth-round match against Stan Wawrinka at the US Open but has shown no lingering effects in Tokyo. The 32-year-old Serb is making a push to finish as year-end World No 1 for the sixth time, which would tie the mark held by Pete Sampras.