Djokovic into last four with 'great' win over Korda

Novak Djokovic overcame American Sebastian Korda in their rescheduled match to reach the semi-finals of the Miami Open.

The world number five rallied in the second set from a break down to close out a 6-3 7-6 (7-4) victory.

The 37-year-old is the oldest player to reach the last four of an ATP Masters 1,000 event and is going for a seventh title in Miami.

The match was due to be played on Wednesday but was postponed to Thursday at short notice after Emma Raducanu’s quarter-final match did not finish until after 23:00, past the ATP’s cut-off point.

“You wait an entire day and if it’s for the rain I guess you accept it, but this was scheduled and then the matches and everything just extended so much,” Djokovic told Sky Sports.

“The match was postponed for today and it wasn’t too early so it was OK to get some sleep. I didn’t go to bed until 2.30am so it disrupts your body rhythm – so I’m just happy to come through.”

Djokovic will face Bulgarian 14th seed Grigor Dimitrov in the semi-finals on Friday as he continues his pursuit of a 100th ATP title.

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It is a first semi-final appearance for Djokovic at this tournament since 2016 and, with Carlos Alcaraz, Jack Draper and Daniil Medvedev among a host of top-10 seeds already out, the draw has opened up for the Serb to add another Miami title.

Djokovic efficiently took the opening set on Thursday, breaking his opponent’s serve in the eighth game.

But the 24-time Grand Slam champion had to dig deep in the second, with some impressive serving allowing him to recover from 5-2 down to force a tie-break and clinch the win.

“Best serving performance for me so far,” Djokovic said. “I was quite nervous because you never know what comes from Korda – he’s so aggressive and talented.

“I was on my back foot, waiting for his error rather than dictating from the back of the court. When I needed a first serve I got it but a tense match and great performance.”

Earlier on Thursday, unseeded Czech Jakub Mensik beat 17th seed Arthur Fils 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 to book a semi-final against either Italian 29th seed Matteo Berrettini or American Taylor Fritz.