With his second victory at the Miami Open, Novak secured a spot in the last 16 at the season’s second Masters 1000 event.
Fourth seed Novak Djokovic delivered a solid performance in his third round match at the Miami Open presented by Itau on Sunday, overcoming Argentina’s Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-1, 7-6 (1) to keep building momentum as the tournament progresses.
With the win, Nole earned a record 411th ATP Masters 1000 match win, breaking a tie with Spaniard Rafael Nadal.
“I started the match really well, very similar to the second round two days ago. Things got a bit complicated in the second set when he broke back. I had chances at 4-4, but it was fair for the set to go into a tiebreak, which was perfect – just like two days ago,” Novak said after the match.
Facing a 12-years-younger opponent who was making his Masters debut, Novak took control from the outset. He broke Carabelli in the second game and repeated the feat in the sixth game, closing out the opening set in commanding fashion, 6-1.
The Serbian ace continued in the same rhythm in the second set, breaking early to take a 2-1 lead. However, the Argentine responded immediately, breaking back to level at 2-2. From that moment on, the lucky loser put up a much stronger resistance, forcing a tie-break. But just like in his previous match, Novak was clinical in the decisive moments, dominating the tie-break to seal the straight-sets victory.
Match stats: aces (9-3), double faults (2-2), winners (18-15), unforced errors (24-20), total points won (67-55).
For a place in the quarter-finals, Novak will face no.15 seed Lorenzo Musetti.
Djokovic has a 7-1 H2H record against the Italian.
Photo: Profimedia
