Of the four matches, Djokovic probably had the easiest one.  He was facing Jeremy Chardy and had never lost to him.  He cruised to a 6-2, 6-3 win proving superior off the ground, and passing too well when Chardy came to net.

All in all, Chardy can point to a successful run at Toronto.  He beat Baghdatis, Verdasco, and Davydenko to reach this point, so a loss to Djokovic was not entirely unexpected.  To beat him would have been almost of Mardy Fish proportions (who upset Roger Federer in Indian Wells a few years ago, but lost in 3 sets to Djokovic in the finals)

With his win, the top 4 men in the world are in the semifinals of the Rogers Cup.  Andy Murray will play Rafael Nadal in the afternoon match and Roger Federer will play Novak Djokovic in the evening match.  The semifinals are a replay of the 2008 US Open semifinals.

Recall that Nadal is the top seed and Djokovic is the number 2 seed, but a win for Federer would set up the long-time rivalry between he and Nadal should Nadal prevail over Murray.

Nadal has not played really good tennis so far, but he has a knack for lifting his game at the right moments.  Last year, Nadal was vulnerable on hard courts and has been historically at his worst on hard courts, losing to a variety of players including Murray, Djokovic, Davydenko, del Potro, and a whole host of others.  It’s not so much that Nadal is weak on the surface but that so may of these players prefer hardcourts to grass or clay and play their best.  This year, playing healthier tennis, Nadal is doing better, though still not at full form.

Roger Federer has been playing better in Toronto at least compared to his performance the last few months, but had a slight regression at the end when he let Berdych dictate off the ground and almost didn’t win at all.  Djokovic hasn’t played the kind of aggressive game that he has played in the past, and used more of a steady style to win.

Both semifinals look intriguing and it promises to be an exciting conclusion to the tournament just weeks before the US Open.