Novak Djokovic Battles Into Miami Open Quarterfinals
Novak Djokovic outdueled Austrian 14th seed Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-4, stretching his Miami Open win streak to 13 matches.
Highlights
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Djokovic beat Austrian 14th seed Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-4
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The Serb stretched his Miami Open win streak to 13 matches
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He will take on Czech seventh seed Tomas Berdych in the quarters
World number one Novak Djokovic was struggling to play his best, but held firm when pressed to the brink on Tuesday and battled into the Miami Open quarterfinals. (Serena Williams, Andy Murray Sent Packing in Miami Open Shockers)
The two-time defending champion outdueled Austrian 14th seed Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-4, stretching his Miami win streak to 13 matches to book a last-eight date Wednesday against Czech seventh seed Tomas Berdych.
"Straight set win but far from easy. It was a tough match," Djokovic said. "I kept my serves. But I made a lot of double faults and he had me under a lot of pressure."
Djokovic, a five-time Miami winner overall, rescued 13 of 14 break points, four of them in the last game of the first set and four more in a dramatic 14-minute final game before hitting a forehand winner on his fourth match-point opportunity.
"I had some luck in that last game where he missed a couple of easy forehands to get the break back and get into the match," Djokovic said. "I stayed tough when it was most needed. The important moments I tried to make him play, make him run."
Djokovic won his 11th Grand Slam title two months ago at the Australian Open and has also lifted Doha and Indian Wells trophies this year while Thiem captured titles last month at Acapulco and Buenos Aires.
The 28-year-old Serbian made eight double faults and 29 unforced errors against only two aces and eight winners.
"The second serve was not working that well. That was due to the pressure he was imposing. I just didn't have the rhythm," Djokovic said.
"Generally I don't get to face that many break points. I'll try not to get myself in those positions as much."
Berdych outlasted French 10th seed Richard Gasquet 6-4, 3-6, 7-5, but has won only two of 24 meetings with Djokovic, having lost their past nine matches since a 2013 Rome quarterfinal victory.
They are the only top-10 men still playing except for Japanese sixth seed Kei Nishikori, who meets Spanish 17th seed Roberto Bautista Agut.