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Novak Djokovic is thinking of devastated Serbia after reaching Rome Masters final

This content was published 10 years ago. It may refer to a past edition of the Internazionali d’Italia.

Novak Djokovic reached his fifth Rome Masters final.
But his heart was hurting after watching the news of his home country suffering from the worst floods for more than a century.
The Serbian star will face either Rafa Nadal or Grigor Dimitrov at Foro Italico tomorrow looking to bring some joy to his devastated homeland.
And the tragic event where at least 20 people have lost their lives has been playing on his mind.
He said: “I am glad I am in the final, but I feel uncomfortable a bit because everything has stopped at home. This is the biggest flood that I have seen and maybe Europe. We need help.
“Whenever I have my phone I am following the news and trying to be involved as much as I can.
“Nature is a higher force and this a total catastrophe of biblical proportions. Half of the country is in danger of having no electricity and there is total evacuation of big cities.”
Djokovic beat Milos Raonic 6-7 7-6 6-3 on Centre court in three hours of tense tennis against the 6ft 5ins Canadian.
And Djokovic added: “It is a big win and it gives me a lot of strength and belief that I can hopefully carry into the final and the rest of the season.
“His serve is the best in the world with Isner’s. I can’t recall the last time I felt so helpless in the return games. He gets a lot of balls back in play aggressively. The ball bounces so high when he hits it from the fourth floor – it’s difficult to catch it!”
Raonic added: “He played better than me and he deserves to win.
“I can take a lot of positive things and I am happy with that. I take what I have done here and try to do better in Roland Garros.
“The situation was identical for me to those I have had a lot of times. I try to hold my game and this allows me to have more freedom and I try to build off out of it.
“That’s how I do it. Our young generation is definitely good.
“Seeing Stan Wawrinka doing what he did in Australia and hold up in Monte Carlo gives you a sort of self-confidence to play and stay among those top guys. I think it’s more about him than a new generation.”

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