Tuesday saw rain in Miami delaying the completion of the round of 16 matches at the ATP Masters 1000 Miami Open presented by Itaú.
I was starstruck! It was amazing to see first DelPo, obviously a long-time friend and a rival, so happy to have him around, and get his support from the box. It was amazing, it was [the] first time to have DelPo in the box, so I want to thank him really for coming, and Serena, that was a surprise. I didn’t know… Novak Djokovic
The three-and-a-half-hour delay due to the showers forced organisers to postpone the night session match on the Stadium between top seed Alexander Zverev and Arthur Fils that allowed the day-time schedule to be played into the evening.
This saw 6-time champion and former World No 1 Novak Djokovic cruise into the quarter-finals with a 6-2 6-2 win over Italian Lorenzo Musetti in an hour and 22 minutes.
Musetti, the 15th seed from Tuscany, got off to a flying start to take a 2-0 lead in the first set, but then proceeded to lose the next 9 games as the Serb, looking confident and sharp, ran away with the match.
“He had a really good start of the match,” Djokovic said. “First couple games I started a little bit slow and then I knew, that if I give him time, he’s going to make his shots.
“He loves, kind of, running around his backhand, hitting forehands. But he is so talented, he can play any shot in the game on any surface.
“It was tough, particularly in the first seven, eight games of the match. But I think breaking his serve to come back to two-all and break right away at 3-2, it was a momentum shift and I tried to use that,” he added.
Djokovic has won the Miami Open on 6 occasions, but has not featured in the quarters since his last victory here in 2016.
The 37-year-old is now just 3 wins away from winning his 100th tour-level title, having produced a statement performance in front of Serena Williams and Juan Martin del Potro, who was in his box.
“I was starstruck! It was amazing to see first DelPo, obviously a long-time friend and a rival, so happy to have him around, and get his support from the box,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview. “It was amazing, it was [the] first time to have DelPo in the box, so I want to thank him really for coming, and Serena, that was a surprise. I didn’t know.
“Actually, when I had that down-the-line passing shot, I pointed to her and asked her whether it was okay. She, kind of, said, ‘Yeah, it was fine’. If Serena says it was fine, then it was amazing by everyone else’s standards. So yeah, great to have them.”
4th-seeded Djokovic fell behind an early break, and was given a time violation warning.
That moment proved pivotal, as the 40-time Masters 1000 winner snapped into gear from there, winning 9 consecutive games to turn a deficit into a landslide, and, ultimately, sealing his place in the Last 8.
Home favourite Sebastian Korda, the No 24 seed, brought an end to veteran Gael Monfils’ magnificent run in Miami on Tuesday
© Al Bello/Getty Images
Djokovic will face American Sebastian Korda on Wednesday for a place in the semi-finals after the 24th seed beat French veteran Gael Monfils, 6-4 2-6 6-4, in a rain-affected match.
It was a tricky clash for the home favourite against a fans’ favourite in Monfils.
Korda let slip a lead, and play was suspended due to rain when he was up a break in the third set, but the 23-year-old held firm, and closed out the match on resumption without trouble.
“I think I got pretty negative as well. I was thinking about a couple points, versus the match overall,” Korda said. “Just got negative about the little things, instead of saying, overall, that everything was going pretty well. Just, kind of, had to refocus, be positive again, and keep trying my best.”
Korda visibly struggled with his wrist, and said after the match that he had been in discomfort with an injury that has caused him trouble in the past.
“It’s pretty painful right now, we’ll see how it goes tomorrow,” said Korda, who later pulled out of his doubles match with partner Jordan Thompson. “Will do a lot of work with my physio now, we’ll see how it is tomorrow.
“I haven’t played a lot of tournaments this year. Hopefully I can play some good tennis, and see where it takes me.”
Francisco Cerundolo (R) upset 5th-seeded Casper Ruud in 2 sets to reach the Last 8 in Miami
© Al Bello/Getty Images
Meanwhile, Argentine Francisco Cerundolo upset 5th-seed Casper Ruud from Norway, 6-4 6-2, to take his place in the Last 8.
Cerundolo, who enjoys plenty of support from South Florida’s large Argentine community, has now reached the quarters in 3 of his past 4 appearances in Miami.
He failed to make the most of 3 break points in the opening game, but eventually broke through at 3-3, converting his 4th break point of that game.
The 23rd seed, who lost to Carlos Alcaraz in the quarter-finals at Indian Wells, was dominant in the second set, but his win was postponed by a 3 hour, 30 minute rain delay that arrived when he was 5-1 up.
“I’m super happy. It’s always difficult when you’re playing a really good match, controlling the game, and you have to stop for rain,” said Cerundolo. “It’s not easy, but I was chill and came back to the match confident and played a really good service game. I’m super happy to get back-to-back Masters 1000 quarter-finals in the US, on hard courts. It’s a great achievement.”
Next up for Cerundolo is the 14th seed, Grigor Dimitrov from Bulgaria, who defeated American Brandon Nakashima, 6-4 7-5.
Dimitrov expertly targeted his opponent’s second serve to clinch his 4th-round win.
Nakashima dropped just 3 points behind his first delivery in the match, but Dimitrov won 61% on second-serve return, and converted 2 of 5 break points he earned.
Dimitrov, the 2024 finals, would have fallen out of the Top 20 after Miami had he lost to Nakashima, but, instead, he is into his 2nd quarter-final in South Florida, which he will contest as the No 20 in the live rankings.
Matteo Berrettini took down Alex De Minaur, the 10th seed, to set up a Last 8 encounter with 3rd-seeded Taylor Fritz
© Matthew Stockman/Getty Images
A day after a thrilling 3-set win over Brazilian Joao Fonseca, Australia’s Alex de Minaur was eliminated by 10th-seed Italian Matteo Berrettini, who triumphed 6-3 7-6 (7).
The end of the second set featured a roller-coaster of momentum shifts.
Berrettini had the chance to close out the match when serving at 6-5, but let 3 match points slip, and the match went into a tiebreak.
de Minaur then had a great chance to force a deciding set when he was 6/3 up, but he was unable to convert his 3 set points, and Berrettini clawed back to victory after 2 hours and 1 minute.
The Italian will face 3rd-seed Taylor Fritz, after the American advanced with a 6-3 7-5 win over Australia lucky loser, Adam Walton.
With his win in the Grandstand, Fritz equalled his best Miami result, a 2023 quarter-final run.
19-year old Jakub Mensik, who upset Jack Draper in the 2nd-round, received a walk-over from Tomas Machac, and awaits the winner between top seed Alexander Zverev and Arthur Fils
© Carmen Mandato/Getty Images
Tomas Machac withdrew from the tournament on Tuesday due to illness, and his opponent, fellow Czech Jakub Mensik, advances to the quarter-finals via a walk-over.
Mensik awaits the winner of the postponed match between Zverev and Fils, who play on Wednesday.
In his second Masters 1000 quarter-final, the 19-year-old is the 6th teenager to reach the Miami quarter-finals since 2010, joining Zverev, Denis Shapovalov, Felix Auger-Aliassime, Jannik Sinner and Carlos Alcaraz, all of whom moved on to crack the Top 10 in the rankings.
Two of the 4 quarter-final matches will be determined on Wednesday, that between Cerundolo and Dimitrov, and Korda against Djokovic.
