Djokovic Begins Quest For Masters 1000 Record

Records fuel a dominant World No. 1’s ambitions and this week, defending Miami Open champion Novak Djokovic will look to set an impressive new benchmark to pull clear of Rafael Nadal.

The 28-year-old Serb drew level with the Spaniard for the most ATP World Tour Masters 1000 titles following his victory at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells on Sunday. And should he complete his fourth Indian Wells-Miami double he would claim a record 29 titles at that level.

In 2007, Djokovic claimed his first Australian Open crown before going on to land his maiden Masters 1000 title in Miami. Eight years on, he is a heavy favourite to do the same.

“For me Miami represents something special because it was the first big tournament that I won back in 2007, beating Guillermo Cañas in the final,” Djokovic said. “It helped me to believe and build my self-confidence for the rest of my career. I used it as a springboard basically for everything else that was coming up after that.”

This week marks the first time Djokovic, Nadal and Roger Federer have contested the same event since this year’s Australian Open back in January. It marks Federer’s first tournament back since undergoing knee surgery.

“It’s great to have Roger back,” Novak said. “He hasn’t played a couple of years in Miami.

“He had the injury after the Australian Open that prevented him from playing in Dubai and Indian Wells. But he’s such an important player for our sport, everything that he has achieved in his life, his tennis career.

“I’m very glad that all the top players are taking part in this tournament, I expect some good tennis. I see the fans are already excited, coming in big numbers in the opening days of the tournament.

“So I look forward to it. I’ve had a very successful last couple of years in Miami. The fact that I have five days between Indian Wells final and the first match here gives me enough time to get used to the conditions and get ready for the challenge.”

Djokovic will open his campaign after a first-round bye against Brit Kyle Edmund, a three-set winner over Czech Jiri Vesely. The pair has never met.

“He’s very calm, seems very mature for his age, the way he behaves off the court; he’s very respectful of the game,” Djokovic said. “He’s one of the youngsters everyone is looking up to and expecting to make a breakthrough.”

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