Novak Djokovic delivered an emphatic show to seal his place within the Miami Open ultimate with a straight-sets victory over Grigor Dimitrov.
The 24-time grand slam champion wanted simply 69 minutes to safe a one-sided 6-2 6-3 win in opposition to his Bulgarian opponent.
Djokovic, 37, is bidding to land his a hundredth profession title – a file seventh in Florida – and his first since teaming up with Andy Murray as his coach.
Victory in Sunday’s ultimate in opposition to 19-year outdated Czech Jakub Mensik – ranked 54th on the planet – would see Djokovic be part of Jimmy Connors and Roger Federer as the one males to win 100 titles in a profession.
Regardless of dropping his opening service recreation, Djokovic raced to the primary set in half-hour after producing simply two unforced errors in entrance of a crowd that included Argentina World Cup winner Lionel Messi.
He by no means appeared in peril of dropping the second – lacking simply six first serves in all the match – as he booked his place in his eighth ultimate in Miami and his first since Shanghai in October.
Chatting with Sky Sports activities after his last-four triumph, Djokovic mentioned: “It feels nice. I didn’t assume I’d beat my proportion of first serves from the previous match, however I did and that makes life simpler on the court docket.
“It was difficult on the market in the present day, the wind was swirling round and never constant, however I’ve not dropped a set on this event and I really feel pretty much as good as I’ve for the reason that Olympics final yr.”
Djokovic gained his first ATP 1000 title in Miami in 2007 when he was simply 19, and on Sunday he’ll play in opposition to a 19-year-old in search of his maiden title success.
Mensik hit 25 aces as he outlasted third seeded Taylor Fritz to win 7-6 (4) 4-6 7-6 (4) in virtually two-and-a-half hours.
Fritz grabbed the one break of the match at the beginning of the second set, however made errors within the tie breaks as Mensik booked his first ATP Masters 1000 ultimate in opposition to his childhood hero.
“It feels unbelievable,” he mentioned about dealing with Djokovic “It was a dream to play in opposition to him in Shanghai. For now it’s a bit completely different.
“I’m a greater participant now and I’m going to take pleasure in and it’s going to be actually thrilling. Let’s see what’s going to occur Sunday.”
Source link