In front of Lionel Messi, Novak Djokovic put on a strong show to defeat Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets and guarantee his spot in the Miami Open final.
Novak Djokovic defeats Grigor Dimitrov in straight sets to advance to his 60th career Masters final; Serbia awaits the victor of Sunday’s final between Taylor Fritz and Jakub Mensik;
The 24-time grand slam champion defeated his Bulgarian opponent 6-2 6-3 in a lopsided victory in just 69 minutes.
Djokovic, 37, is bidding to land his 100th career title – a record seventh in Florida – and his first since teaming up with Andy Murray as his coach.
Despite losing his opening service game, Djokovic raced to the first set in 30 minutes after producing just two unforced errors.
He never looked in danger of losing the second – missing just six first serves in the entire match – as he booked his place in his eighth final in Miami and his first since Shanghai in October.
With no set losses going into the Miami Open final, Djokovic says he feels fantastic and thinks he’s playing his best tennis since the Olympics.
“It feels great,” Djokovic told Sky Sports following his victory in the round of four. I didn’t anticipate surpassing my previous match’s first serve percentage, but I did, which makes things easier on the court.
“It was tricky out there today, the wind was swirling around and not consistent, but I have not dropped a set in this tournament and I feel as good as I have since the Olympics last year.”
On Sunday, Djokovic will compete for a century of titles against either Taylor Fritz or Jakub Mensik. He won his first title in Miami in 2007 at the age of 19.
The legendary football player Messi traded in his regular role as captain of Inter Miami, a Major League Soccer team, for a brief opportunity to watch a vintage Djokovic match up close.
“Amazing to have him,” Djokovic said on Messi’s attendance. “It is a great honour to play, probably for the first time, in front of him live.
“I am really grateful he was here with his son and the family. I admired him of course as most of the world did for most of his career and it is amazing he still keeps going. We are actually the same age, born in 1987, so it is nice to have him around.”
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