Djokovic Solves Berdych Again, Advances To Miami SFs

Novak Djokovic never let Tomas Berdych into their quarter-finals match on Wednesday night and now will play for a chance at his sixth consecutive Miami Open final. The World No. 1 frustrated Berdych throughout their one-hour and 40-minute contest, winning 6-3, 6-3 at Crandon Park.

The Serb has now beaten Berdych 10 consecutive times, and he improved his FedEx ATP Head2Head record against the Czech to 23-2.

In the semi-finals, Djokovic will play Belgian David Goffin, who will be appearing in his first Miami Open semi-final after reaching the same stage in Indian Wells. Djokovic leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 3-0, including a three-set win last year on the hard courts in Cincinnati.

On Wednesday, Djokovic suffocated Berdych with deep groundstrokes and a reliable net game for his 20^th hard-court win in their series. It wasn’t good enough for Berdych to merely rally with Djokovic; he had to try to do more. But the No. 7 seed struggled to find the upper rungs of his game, hitting 45 unforced errors to 15 winners.

Berdych was especially vulnerable on his second serve. He double faulted five times, and when he did land a second offering, Djokovic pounced, winning 17 of those 23 points.

There were points when Berdych looked to be doing everything right. He’d be moving the World No. 1 side to side and keeping him behind the baseline, when all of a sudden Djokovic would deliver a shot that would skid off a line or land for a winner. The No. 7 seed could only shrug his shoulders.

Djokovic’s lower back was treated by a trainer midway through the second set but the injury didn’t appear to be a serious bother for the No. 1 seed.