Novak Djokovic wins first meeting vs Auger-Aliassime to secure No 1 spot for French Open

Novak Djokovic has advanced to the semi-finals of the Italian Open with a 7-5 7-6(1) win over Felix Auger-Aliassime in what was an entertaining first meeting between the two. The Serb's two-hour-and-nine-minute victory also allows him to hold onto the world No 1 spot, which was under threat to Daniil Medvedev, guaranteeing him the top-seeded position at the upcoming French Open.

It was the first career meeting between Djokovic and Auger-Aliassime, though they had shared the practice court multiple times so were well aware of each other's game styles. Although he was coming up against the world No 1 for the first time, the 21-year-old managed to hold his nerve from the start.

The first set was neck-and-neck until 2-2, when the eighth seed was the first to set up a break point, saved by Djokovic as the five-time former champion held on for 3-2. The world No 1 then got a break of his own to serve for the opening set at 5-3 after almost 40 minutes.

But he was denied the chance to close out the set as the Canadian broke to get himself back on serve and produced a confident love-hold to level things at 5-5. There was controversy a game later during the changeover when the Rome crowd heavily booed a Zlatan Ibrahimovic AC Milan shirt shown on the big screen before the top seed was able to break his opponent and take the opener 7-5.

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There was more controversy in the first point of the second set, when chair umpire Nacho Forcadell called one of the Canadian's shots "not-up", awarding Djokovic the point when video replays shared by broadcasters and fans on social media showed Auger-Aliassime had gotten to the ball with plenty of time to spare. The