Australian Open 2013: Novak Djokovic back to his battling best as he defeats Tomas Berdych to reach semi-finals I was aware of his qualities and I was very pleased with my performance. On the match-up with Ferrer, he added: "He is one of the most respected guys on the tour because he never gives up. He is one of the fittest guys around and I am expecting a long one. For three of the four sets against Berdych, Djokovic was dominant. Any doubts over his fitness were dispelled in a blistering start as, crushing winners from every angle, he ripped through the first set in just 28 minutes. Berdych was shell-shocked but regrouped sufficiently to break early in the second and hold his advantage to 5-4 when he had the chance to serve it out. Djokovic applied the pressure, having four break point chances, but Berdych stood firm with a backhand winner down the line on the Serbian's third opportunity arguably the shot of the night. It was to prove as close as Berdych would get as from there he was swamped. The top seed, aiming to become the first man in the Open era to win three successive Australian Open crowns, raced into a 4-0 third-set lead on his way to re-establishing his advantage. Berdych did marginally better in the fourth but a solitary break in game three proved enough for Djokovic who moved into his 11th successive grand slam semi-final. Ferrer capitalised on Nicolas Almagro's fragile temperament to hit back from two sets down and clinch his place in the last four. Almagro had lost all 12 previous meetings with his Spanish compatriot before today and the mental baggage was apparent when he failed to serve out the match three times - once in the third set and then twice in the fourth. By the fifth, Almagro was a psychological wreck and it was no surprise that Ferrer duly completed a gutsy 4-6 4-6 7-5 7-6 (7/4) 6-2 victory in three hours and 44 minutes.