Fourth-seeded Novak Djokovic committed just five unforced errors while cruising to a 6-2, 6-3 victory over 14th-seeded Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria on Friday afternoon to reach the Miami Open final for the eighth time.
Djokovic converted 4 of 6 break points to go with an 87 percent accuracy on his first serves during the semifinal clash while beating Dimitrov for the 13th time in 14 career meetings.
Djokovic will be gunning for his 100th career tournament title on Sunday when he opposes Jakub Mensik of the Czech Republic, who upset third-seeded Taylor Fritz 7-6 (4), 4-6, 7-6 (4) in the second semifinal.
In the players’ lone meeting, Djokovic beat Mensik at Shanghai in 2024.
The 37-year-old Djokovic missed just six serves during the entire 70-minute match against the 33-year-old Dimitrov.
“I surprised myself with the 87 percent first serves in these tricky conditions,” Djokovic said. “Very windy, not consistent at all. Not easy to toss the ball.”
The Serbian hasn’t won a title since the Paris Olympics last summer. But he has turned back the clock in Miami with five consecutive straight-set victories.
“After the Olympics, which was my 99th title, I knew that every tournament I play, I am going for 100,” Djokovic said. “I wasn’t able to achieve that — until hopefully Sunday. I am going to go all in. I haven’t dropped a set. I’m playing really good tennis, as good as I’ve played in a long time.”
Djokovic will be looking to join Roger Federer (103) and leader Jimmy Connors (109) in the men’s 100-singles titles club.
Djokovic also will be seeking his seventh Miami title. He is tied with Andre Agassi for the most crowns but has not won one since 2016.
Djokovic’s eighth final will also match Agassi for the most.
Djokovic sailed Friday despite having just 10 winners on a day in which soccer legend Lionel Messi was in the stands.
Dimitrov was plagued by 32 unforced errors to go with 14 winners. His first-serve percentage was 53.
After a split of the first four games, Djokovic won the final four games of the first set. In the second set, Djokovic won the first three games and four of the first five. Dimitrov made a mini-run by winning two of the next three games before Djokovic closed out the match.
Mensik, a 19-year-old ranked 54th in the world, is through to the first ATP Masters 1000 final of his career. He lost in his only other tour final last year in Doha, Qatar.
Mensik prevailed against Fritz despite never recording a service break, as he finished with a 25-14 edge in aces.
“The return was tough today,” Mensik said. “We were serving really great today so he didn’t give me an opportunity to break him. It was just the tiebreaks for me that was the decider. I came to show my best performance in the tiebreaks.”
Next he gets to face Djokovic for the championship.
“It feels incredible,” Mensik said. “For me it was a dream to play against him in Shanghai. For now it’s a bit different. I am a better player now and I’m going to enjoy and it’s going to be really exciting. Let’s see what’s going to happen Sunday.”
–Field Level Media
