Novak Djokovic beat Zizou Bergs 6-3, 7-5 on Thursday to book his place in the semifinals of the 2025 Shanghai Masters. The Serb was relieved to get through another tough match in challenging conditions.The heat and humidity in Shanghai have caused the downfall of several players since the tournament began. Defending champion Jannik Sinner was the biggest name to fall, retiring due to cramps in the third round.Djokovic has also felt the ill effects of the harsh weather. He threw up multiple times during his third-round match against Yannick Hanfmann and had his vitals checked after he collapsed during his fourth-round contest against Jaume Munar. However, the 38-year-old found a way to persevere time and time again.Following his win over Bergs, the former World No. 1 spoke of the challenging conditions in Shanghai. "I'm just trying to stay alive, to be honest, on the court," he said in his post-match interview. "First encounter with Bergs, great guy, obviously a lot of firepower in his game. At times I just tried to play an extra ball in the court, make him miss the ball. That's what happened."Should've closed out the match at 5-4, he played a good game and I was a little too passive. Just very challenging conditions these days for all the players. Just trying to stay alive on the court and glad to overcome this hurdle."Djokovic, a four-time champion at the Shanghai Masters, is the most successful player in the tournament's history. He is now one win away from having the opportunity to further extend his record. Novak Djokovic will face Valentin Vacherot in the semifinals of 2025 Shanghai MastersNovak Djokovic at the Shanghai Masters 2025. (Photo: Getty)Novak Djokovic will take on qualifier Valentin Vacherot in the semifinals of the Shanghai Masters on Saturday. The Monegasque is in the midst of a dream run, having reached his maiden Masters 1000 semifinal ranked No. 204. He has already taken out four seeded players en route to the last four.Vacherot's giant-killing spree started with an upset win over 14th seed Alexander Bublik. 20th seed Tomas Machac, 27th seed Tallon Griekspoor and 10th seed Holger Rune were his next scalps. He will now aim to score the biggest win of his career by taking down Djokovic.However, that won't be an easy task for Vacherot. Djokovic has a 26-0 record against everyone ranked outside the top 20 in Shanghai. The tournament is one of his favorite hunting grounds, and he will be keen to capitalize on this opportunity to reach yet another final at the venue.