World No. 1 Novak Djokovic beat eighth seeded Andy Murray in straight sets 7-5 6-3 to advance to the semifinals of the BNP Paribas Masters in Paris on Friday.

The first set was close as the defending champion had a couple of break point opportunities early in the set but was saved by the Valencia Open 500 champion.

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The top seeded Djokovic had another crucial break point late in the set that he capitalized on to take the lead.

The Vienna Open champion had a strong start in the second set as Murray broke the China Open titlist early to take 2-1 lead but Djokovic rallied five straight games to claim victory over the Scot in a match that lasted an hour and 41 minutes.

"I knew he had played seven weeks in a row, trying to qualify for the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals," Djokovic said. "He won three titles and played some great tennis. I knew if I could win the first set, I felt I had a little edge over him physically and could take my opportunities when presented."

The win bolstered Djokovic's quest of maintaining the top spot in the ATP rankings for a second year in a row as Roger Federer lost his match against Milos Raonic in an earlier match.

"Obviously, it helps the battle between Roger and me that I progressed to the semis and he didn't," Djokovic said. "I have to focus on my own matches and try to play as well as I did in my first couple of matches of this tournament. Hopefully I can finish the year as No. 1." 
Djokovic, 27, will now face the winner of the matchup between David Ferrer and Kei Nishikori.

Despite the loss of Murray, the Shenzhen Open title holder had already clinched his spot at the prestigious season-ending event in London when he defeated Bulgarian star Grigor Dimitrov in the thir round, eliminating Dimitrov in the process.

"I can still take confidence in the last few weeks," Murray said. "Hopefully I can put in a good performance in London and it will be a good test for me. But I feel like my game's not that far away against those guys." 

TagsNovak Djokovic, andy murray, Roger Federer