Novak Djokovic vs. Feliciano Lopez: Score and Reaction from 2015 US Open

Novak Djokovic should look into real estate at the U.S. Open semifinals. He's certainly been there enough times.

Djokovic clinched his ninth consecutive semifinals trip, in tennis' final major of the year, with a four-set victory over Feliciano Lopez, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 (7-2). Djokovic did more than enough to earn the victory, winning 76 percent of his first-service points, but Lopez committed a crippling 48 unforced errors, per USOpen.org.

It is impossible to beat the world's best with that many mistakes.

While Djokovic only capitalized on one of those semifinals appearances, earning a title in 2011, he appears poised to add a second U.S. Open championship to his resume. The nine-time major winner is simply playing tennis on another level this year with six tournament victories, including Wimbledon and Australian Open championships.

He also reached the French Open final.

Victories have become so common that even the man himself noticed the lack of hype surrounding his matches, although he seemed almost flattered by it, per Luke Sheehan of Sporting News: 

"

In a way it's a compliment, you know, that people would see me as maybe winner or finalist at least of most of the events that I play on.

I accept it as a compliment. Pressure is part of what we do. I mean, it's always present. You know, sometimes people expect too much of you. But, again, I don't play for anybody else except myself and my family, my country, so I just try to focus on that.

"

Djokovic wasted little time establishing that dominance fans have seen all year during Tuesday's match. The world's No. 1 player jumped all over Lopez and broke the challenger's opening service game. Erik Gudris of Tennis Now was not surprised by the early proceedings:

The Serbian superstar parlayed that initial momentum into a comfortable 6-1 first-set victory that lasted less than 30 minutes.  

However, Lopez did not let Djokovic dictate that tempo throughout the match. He jumped out to a 3-0 lead in the second set, and the U.S. Open noted the crowd was at least temporarily behind the underdog in the hopes for an intriguing showdown:

Gudris acknowledged that Lopez rescued himself from a quick exit with the rally:

While Djokovic made the second set interesting, the Spaniard held on for a 6-3 win to tie the match. Piers Newbery of BBC Sport described Djokovic's frustration, and the Cauldron passed along the highlight:

Perhaps fueled by that anger, the Serbian wasted little time breaking Lopez on his first service game of the critical third set. From there, Djokovic steamrolled his way to a 6-3 win. ESPN Stats & Info pointed out it was business as usual for the defending Wimbledon champion:

It appeared as if Djokovic would put things on cruise control on the way to victory after taking the lead, but Lopez battled back early in the fourth set. The U.S. Open pointed to one aspect in particular that helped him win three of the first five games:

Lopez remained on serve throughout the set and forced a tiebreaker, but the nine-time Grand Slam winner saved his best for last. Djokovic seized the momentum with two beautiful return shots and rode it all the way to a 7-2 tiebreak win.

The U.S. Open shared the winning moment:

Next stop—another semifinals.

What's Next?

Julio Cortez/Associated Press

Next up for Djokovic is that semifinals showdown with Marin Cilic, who outlasted Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in a thrilling five-set match Tuesday, 6-4, 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 6-4.

As if a turnaround clash with the world's top-ranked player following that marathon isn't enough for Cilic, he has to deal with the knowledge that Djokovic boasts a 13-0 career advantage in their head-to-head meetings, per SteveGTennis.com. Among those 13 wins is a straight-sets victory in this year's Wimbledon quarterfinals and victories in last year's French Open and Wimbledon.

Djokovic would be the favorite against any opponent at this point after two major titles and another finals appearance this year. The head-to-head domination over Cilic and any potential fatigue from the challenger after a five-set nail-biter only adds to the feeling of inevitability.

It is now nearly impossible to envision the 2015 U.S. Open final without the world's No. 1 player.