Djokovic plays best match in months to shutdown Musetti and make Miami quarters
The Serbian won 12 of 14 games after dropping the opening two
© Zuma / Psnewz
No 4 seed Novak Djokovic won against Italian Lorenzo Musetti, the No 15 seed, 6-2, 6-2 to advance to the quarter-finals of the Miami Masters at the Hard Rock Stadium on Tuesday night.
Unlike his first two matches against Rinky Hijikata and Camilo Ugo Carabelli, where Djokovic made lightening quick starts, the Serbian was slow against Musetti.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion dropped serve in his first game, quickly falling behind 2-0. However, he fought hard to hold and then break back, levelling the match at 2-2. A time violation from chair umpire Fergus Murphy then attracted the ire of Djokovic, sparking a tear of four more games to win the opening set.
Djokovic’s run would last nine games in a row, racing out to a 3-0 lead in the second set. Altogether he won 12 of the last 14 games after dropping the first two, closing out the second 6-2 as well.
The world No 5 was typically brilliant on return, winning almost half of Musetti’s first serve points and well over that on his second serve. He was solid on his own with 70 percent of first serves made and 75 percent of those points won, offering up just one break point over the course of the one-hour, 23-minute match (which he defended).
He was excellent at the net as well, winning 14 of the 15 times he approached.
“He had a really good start of the match, I started a little bit slow,” Djokovic said after the match. “I knew if I give him time, he’s going to make his shots. He’s so talented. It was tough, particularly in the first seven or eight games. It was a momentum shift, I tried to use that.
“I served well, it makes your life easier on the court. You get some easy shots. Overall, it was a great match.”
Djokovic is set to play Sebastian Korda, the No 24 seed, next. However, there is a chance that the American doesn’t take the court on Wednesday.
Korda injured his wrist in his victory over Gael Monfils on Tuesday, receiving a medical timeout and sharing in his on-court interview that he was in a lot of pain. He then withdrew from the doubles event. While no news has come from his camp about his participation in singles, given that he has had surgery in the past, there’s a strong likelihood that Djokovic gets a walkover into the semi-finals.
Ahead of his victory, the 37-year-old Serb defeated Australian Rinky Hijikata (6-0, 7-6 (1)) and Argentinian lucky loser Camilo Ugo Carabelli (6-1, 7-6 (1)).
Musetti, ranked No 16, edged out Frenchman Quentin Halys (3-6, 7-6 (4), 7-5) and won against Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, the No 18 seed (4-6, 6-2, 6-3) in the previous rounds of the Miami Open.
Miami Masters 1000, other last 16 results (Hard Rock Stadium, hard, USD 9.193.540, most recent results first):
- Alexander Zverev vs. Arthur Fils
- Taylor Fritz vs. Adam Walton: tuesday
- Tomas Machac vs. Jakub Mensik
- Alex De Minaur vs. Matteo Berrettini: tuesday
- Francisco Cerundolo (23) beat Casper Ruud (5): 6-4, 6-2
- Sebastian Korda beat Gael Monfils: 6-4, 2-6, 6-4
- Grigor Dimitrov (14) beat Brandon Nakashima (31): 6-4, 7-5
