Miami Open: Novak Djokovic marches into quarters as Casper Ruud bows out | Tennis News

Novak Djokovic progressed at the Miami Open. (Image: X/ATPTour)

Novak Djokovic advanced to the Miami Open quarterfinals by defeating Italian Lorenzo Musetti 6-2, 6-2 in a match lasting one hour and 22 minutes. Despite Musetti taking an early 2-0 lead in the first set, Djokovic dominated the next nine games.
This marks Djokovic’s first quarter-final appearance at the Miami Open since his last victory in 2016, where he has previously claimed six titles. At age 37, he is now three wins away from securing his 100th tour-level title.
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“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. 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 two-all and break right away at 3-2, it was a momentum shift and I tried to use that.”
Djokovic’s next opponent will be American Sebastian Korda, the 24th seed, who defeated French veteran Gael Monfils 6-4, 2-6, 6-4 in a rain-affected match. Korda experienced wrist discomfort during the match, an injury that has troubled him previously.
“It’s pretty painful right now, we’ll see how it goes tomorrow. Will do a lot of work with my physio now, we’ll see how it is tomorrow. I haven’t played a lot of tournaments this year. Hopefully I can play some good tennis and see where it takes me.”
Korda subsequently withdrew from his doubles match with partner Jordan Thompson.
Argentine Francisco Cerundolo upset fifth-seed Casper Ruud with a score of 6-4, 6-2. Cerundolo, who receives strong support from South Florida’s Argentine community, has now reached the quarter-finals in three of his last four Miami appearances.
“I’m super happy. It’s always difficult when you’re playing a really good match, controlling the game, and you have to stop for rain. It’s not easy, but I was chill and came back to the match confident and played a really good service game. I’m super happy to get back-to-back Masters 1000 quarter-finals in the US, on hard courts. It’s a great achievement.”
Cerundolo will face 14th seed Grigor Dimitrov, who defeated American Brandon Nakashima 6-4, 7-5.
Tenth-seeded Italian Matteo Berrettini eliminated Australia’s Alex de Minaur 6-3, 7-6 (9/7). Despite having three match points while serving at 6-5, Berrettini needed a tiebreak to secure victory. De Minaur had three set points at 6/3 in the tiebreak but failed to convert.
Berrettini’s next opponent will be third-seed Taylor Fritz, who advanced by defeating Australian lucky loser Adam Walton 6-3, 7-5.
Due to rain delays, the fourth-round match between top-seed Alexander Zverev and France’s Arthur Fils has been rescheduled for Wednesday.