Novak Djokovic has advanced into the semi-finals of the Qatar Open with a 6-3 6-3 straight-sets win over Czech qualifier Radek Stepanek.

The world number two, looking to make up the gap on Andy Murray at the top of the men's singles rankings, made little mistake in the Far East as he continued his defence of the title in a straightforward manner.

Stepanek earned a break of serve in the seventh game of the opening set, but Djokovic had already grabbed a foothold in the match early on and broke his opponent for a second time in the eighth to edge ahead.

Djokovic opened up a 3-1 lead in the second set and successfully held to set up a meeting with Fernando Verdasco in the final four, after the Spaniard got the better of Ivo Karlovic elsewhere on Thursday afternoon.