First Miami quarterfinal in eight years: Novak Djokovic puts on a clinic to cruise past Lorenzo Musetti

Novak Djokovic secured a commanding victory over Lorenzo Musetti, winning 6-2, 6-2, and advanced to the Miami Open quarterfinals for the first time since 2016 – the year he claimed his 6th title and third consecutive win in Miami. The Serbian won 10 consecutive games, much to the frustration of the Italian.

He had luxury spectators in his box, playing under the watchful eyes of 23-time Grand Slam champion Serena Williams and former US Open champion Juan Martin Del Potro, in addition to his coach Andy Murray.

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Djokovic overpowers Musetti to take first set

Musetti started with an early break, taking advantage of several second serves from the Serbian, and comfortably led with his serve. However, it was only the first few minutes of the match before Djokovic took control and showed his best level of play.

As he had throughout the week, Djokovic dominated the backhand rallies against Musetti, while the Italian often attempted to slow down the pace with his slice backhand. However, the Serbian's consistency from the baseline allowed him to take three consecutive breaks, and without facing a break point, he secured the set 6-2.

Djokovic had a 74% first serve percentage, winning 71% of those points, making it nearly impossible for the Italian to break his serve. Musetti, usually more aggressive, managed only 3 winners and a total of 11 unforced errors.

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Nole ramps up the pressure to seal second set

Djokovic’s dominance grew, and he took an early break, deepening Musetti’s nightmare as Nole went on to win 9 consecutive games. With the score at 0-3 down, Musetti continued to fight, playing some good points and needing his best tennis to stay competitive on serve.

He managed to save a 15-40 deficit to hold serve for the first time after four consecutive breaks against him. The Italian fought hard to get back into the match and managed to remain consistent on his serve, keeping it a break behind Djokovic.

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Musetti managed to hold his serve twice in a row, but this only served to make the scoreline more respectable. Nole pushed to close out the match and secured another break towards the end after a double fault from the 23-year-old Italian.

In the quarterfinals, he will face 24th seed Sebastian Korda, who has been in excellent form at the tournament, having recently defeated Gael Monfils 6-4, 2-6, 6-4, in a match interrupted by rain towards the end of the third set. They’ve met once before, with Nole winning the final of the 2023 Adelaide International 6-7, 7-6, 6-4.

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