MIAMI (DIWIDA) - Novak Djokovic is just two victories shy of securing his 100th career title following his 6-3, 7-6(4) win against Sebastian Korda. Meanwhile, world No. 1 Aryna Sabalenka advanced to her maiden Miami Open final with a dominant 6-2, 6-2 triumph over Jasmine Paolini on Thursday.
After delivering an ace on match point, Djokovic unleashed a victorious scream, prompting his ex-rival turned coach, Andy Murray, to leap from his chair and celebrate alongside him.
The Serbian player, who has won 24 Grand Slams, fell behind Korda 5-2 in the second set but managed to break the American when he was serving for 5-3. His accurate and strong serving then propelled him towards victory.
"I have been performing exceptionally throughout the tournament, but especially today, I really needed this effort in the second set to attempt a comeback," Djokovic said to Tennis Channel.
In the tiebreaker, a few key points determined the victor: a service winner at 5-4 followed by an ace at 6-4 to seal the game. Therefore, I’ll consider those moments as the highlights.
The game was initially set for Wednesday but got delayed following ATP guidelines designed to prevent matches from extending deep into the night.
The fourth-ranked Novak Djokovic, who aims for his seventh victory at the Miami Open and career milestone of 100 titles, is set to compete against the 14th-seed Grigor Dimitrov from Bulgaria in the semifinals on Friday.
Previously, unseeded Czech player Jakub Mensik secured a place in the semifinals after defeating 17th-seeded French competitor Arthur Fils with scores of 7-6(5), 6-1. He will now face either Italy’s 29th-seeded Matteo Berrettini or America’s Taylor Fritz, who are set to compete later in the day.
In the women's category, Sabalenka secured 77% of her first-serve points, delivered six aces, successfully defended all four break points she encountered, and seized four out of her five break point opportunities against Italian sixth-seeded player Paolini throughout the 71-minute encounter.
The leading player from Belarus, who lives in South Florida and came into Miami right after securing second place at Indian Wells, hasn't lost a single set in her five encounters so far.
The upcoming match for Sabalenka will be against the victor of Thursday’s semifinal between American fourth-seeded player Jessica Pegula and Filipino wild card Alexandra Eala. Notably, Eala pulled off an impressive upset by defeating Polish World No. 2 Iga Świątek.
(Reported by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles and Frank Pingue in Toronto, edited by Ed Osmond)