SHANGHAI - Novak Djokovic defeated Zizou Bergs of Belgium 6-3, 7-5 to advance to the men's singles semifinals of the 2025 Shanghai Masters here on Thursday.

This marks Djokovic's 10th career appearance in the Shanghai Masters men's singles semifinals and his 80th semifinal appearance at an ATP Masters 1000 event. The Serbian has previously won four Shanghai Masters titles.

"Thanks for everyone's love and support. I don't want to go into the details right now. I'm still in the tournament, so I prefer to focus on recovery and doing what I need to do. All the quarterfinalists are doing the same, and I'm still in the tournament semifinals, so I hope I can keep it going," Djokovic said.

Meanwhile, Monaco qualifier Valentin Vacherot fought for nearly three hours to defeat 10th seed Holger Rune 2-6, 7-6(4), 6-4, securing his first-ever ATP Tour semifinal appearance.

"I didn't come as a qualifier, I came as an alternate. I wasn't even sure I was going to play the qualifiers. This is just unbelievable," Vacherot said. "It was tough not to think about it on match point, especially breaking into the Top 100."

"I can't wait for the semifinal. I'm just so happy and living the dream," he added.