Could Novak Djokovic be rounding into form?

The six-time Miami Open presented by Itau champion returned to the quarter-finals of the ATP Masters 1000 event with a 6-2, 6-2 win against 15th seed Lorenzo Musetti on Tuesday evening. The 37-year-old, who is now three victories from his 100th tour-level title, produced a statement performance in front of Serena Williams and Juan Martin del Potro (the Argentine 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. It was amazing, it was [the] first time to have DelPo in the box, so I want to thank him really for coming,” Djokovic said in his on-court interview. “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.”

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. The fourth seed won nine consecutive games to turn a deficit into a landslide, ultimately sealing his place in the last eight after one hour and 23 minutes.

“He had a really good start of the match. 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,” Djokovic said. “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 2-all and break right away at 3-2, it was a momentum shift and I tried to use that.”

The Serbian brought rock-solid play to Hard Rock Stadium and relentlessly pursued his opponent’s serve, earning 12 break points and converting five of them, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

Musetti sarcastically raised his arms to celebrate snapping Djokovic’s streak of nine straight games, but it was not enough to turn the tide. The winner now leads the pair’s Lexus ATP Head2Head series 8-1.

Next up for the former No. 1 player in the PIF ATP Rankings will be American Sebastian Korda, who clawed past Gael Monfils 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 earlier in the day. In their only previous clash two years ago in the Adelaide final, Djokovic saved championship point en route to the title.

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 upon 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.”

One day after Alex de Minaur won a three-set thriller against #NextGenATP sensation Joao Fonseca, the Aussie was on the losing end of another tight match. Matteo Berrettini ousted the 10th seed 6-3, 7-6(7).

The end of the second set featured a rollercoaster of momentum shifts. After failing to serve out the match at 6-5 — a game during which he had three match points — Berrettini was close to needing a deciding set. De Minaur was unable to convert one of three consecutive set points from 6/3 in the tie-break, allowing the Italian to emerge victorious after two hours and one minute.

Taylor Fritz will be Berrettini’s next opponent after the third-seeded American moved past lucky loser Adam Walton 6-3, 7-5. With his victory in the Grandstand, Fritz equalled his best Miami result: a 2023 quarter-final run.

By winning his first Lexus ATP Head2Head match against Walton, Fritz improved to 21-1 against players outside the Top 80 in the PIF ATP Rankings and advanced to his 13th ATP Masters 1000 quarter-final.

Did You Know?
This is Djokovic’s first appearance in Miami since 2019. He had not advanced to the quarter-finals since winning the title at Crandon Park in 2016.