Miami Open: Novak Djokovic breezes past Sebastian Korda as Aryna Sabalenka and Jessica Pegula reach women's final
Novak Djokovic to play Grigor Dimitrov in Miami Open semi-finals after beating Sebastian Korda; Aryna Sabalenka reaches fourth WTA Tour final of year after dominant win over Jasmine Paolini, will now face Jessica Pegula after American ends fairy-tale run of teenage wild card Alexandra Eala
Friday 28 March 2025 08:29, UK
Novak Djokovic moved a step closer to a record-breaking seventh Miami Open title after brushing aside Sebastian Korda in straight sets to reach the semi-finals in Florida.
The quarter-final was due to take place on Wednesday before being postponed to the following day due to delays in the running order, where Djokovic saw off Korda 6-3 7-6 in 82 minutes.
Djokovic closed out the first set in style by winning the final 12 points and recovered from trailing 5-2 in the second, hitting back to secure victory in a tie-break and book a semi-final with Grigor Dimitrov.
The 24-time Grand Slam champion becomes the oldest ATP Masters 1000 semi-finalist in series history, surpassing Roger Federer, with Djokovic now looking to win the event for the first time since 2016.
"I am very relieved I won in straight sets," Djokovic told Sky Sports. "I was quite nervous to be honest, because you never know what comes from Korda.
"He's so aggressive, so talented and can play any shot. I was on the back foot and it was a tense match."
Czech teenager Jakub Mensik continued his run with a 7-6 6-1 win over Arthur Fils, setting up a semi-final against Taylor Fritz, who finally beat Matteo Berrettini 7-5 6-7 (7-9) 7-5 after squandering six match points in the second set.
Fitz said of his wastefulness in the second set: "There's two options. Get frustrated about it, lose and then be even more frustrated about all the chances I blew, or regroup and get the win.
"Now I can sleep tonight."
Sabalenka cruises into women's final, will face Pegula
World No 1 Aryna Sabalenka powered into the final of the women's event with a comfortable 6-2 6-2 defeat of sixth seed Jasmine Paolini.
Sabalenka needed just an hour and 12 minutes to see off the Italian, leading throughout and breaking her opponent four times during a one-sided contest.
The 26-year-old, through to her fourth WTA Tour final of the season, will face fourth seed Jessica Pegula, who ended the fairy-tale run of teenage wild card Alexandra Eala with a 7-6 (7-3) 5-7 6-3 victory.
Pegula fought back from 5-2 down to win the opening set and was a break up in the second before her 19-year-old opponent levelled the match despite twisting her ankle during a point.
But the American player came through in a decider that that finished well past midnight, with the 31-year-old writing "I'm tired" on a camera lens.
Looking ahead to the final, Pegula said: "It's nice to know I can win these big matches in really clutch, pressure moments and come out on top. One of the people who does it better than me is Aryna. I'm going to have a big battle."
Eala, from the Philippines, had beaten three Grand Slam champions in her run to the last four - Jelena Ostapenko in round two, Madison Keys in round three and then Iga Swiatek in the quarter-finals.
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