Novak Djokovic produced a dominant display in securing a place in the Miami Open semifinals by defeating American Sebastian Korda 6-3, 7-6 (7/4). He is the oldest player to reach a Masters 1000 semifinal at 37.
Djokovic began vigorously, breaking early to seize momentum in the first set. Korda, though, fought back in the second to force a tie-break. But the Serbian, who was gunning for a seventh Miami Open title and first since 2016, kept his nerve and sealed victory with a blistering ace.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion credited his serve for the victory, winning 84% of his first-serve points and slamming 11 aces. “Probably my best serving performance in quite a while,” Djokovic said. “When you’re confident about your serve, it just makes life easier on the court. I needed it in the second set when Korda was better on his groundstrokes.”
Djokovic will next meet Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov in the semifinals on Friday. A title at the Miami Open would be his 100th career singles trophy, a milestone that his motivation — there is always something to attack. “I feel like I’m playing the best tennis I have in a long time,” he said. “Performances like this make me want to reach for more.”
