Majestic Novak Djokovic dominates Hijikata to advance to Miami Open third round

Novak Djokovic makes a strong debut, defeating Rinky Hijikata 6-0, 7-6[7-1] at the Miami Open to reach the third round. The 6-time champion returned to the tournament for the first time since 2019, extending his impressive record to 45-7. Djokovic also overcame his two first-round defeats during the Middle East Swing.

After a dominant start, and some erratic play from the Australian, Hijikata was able to raise his level and challenge Nole. However, it wasn’t enough against the 24-time Grand Slam champion, who showed his consistency throughout the match.

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Djokovic delivers a bagel in opening set

Djokovic (No. 5) quickly created his first opportunities for a break, taking the lead with solid service games. Hijikata (No. 86) was quite erratic, failing to win any points on his second serve and, due to a combination of errors and excellent play from Djokovic, he gave away a second break, which put the Serbian ahead 4-0.

With little to do to turn it around, Hijikata eventually lost the set 6-0, after conceding a third consecutive break. It was a first set of complete domination by Djokovic, who didn’t give any chances with his serve, allowing only three points on his own serve. The Serbian was aggressive from the return, winning 62% of the points on return.

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Djokovic holds firm in second set tie-break

Hijikata fought back in the match after securing his first service game, and even had a couple of break points, though he was unable to capitalize on them. Midway through the set, the Australian was down 2-3, 0-40, but with some good serving, he won five consecutive points to keep the score level.

Djokovic’s serve continued to be nearly flawless, as he managed to hit 17 consecutive points on his serve from 2-1 to 6-5. While Hijikata broke his streak and showed some of his best tennis moments, he was still nowhere near getting a break point.

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Still, the world No. 86 held his serve and pushed the set into a tie-break. Djokovic demonstrated his experience in these situations, and with a calm mindset, he won three consecutive mini-breaks to close out the victory 6-0, 7-6[7-1].

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