Two hours before the Miami Open semifinal, Novak Djokovic practiced his returns in an empty stadium, the ball coming at him quickly because his hitting partner stood several feet inside the baseline to emulate big-serving John Isner.
The drill helped. Djokovic achieved a breakthrough service break against Isner and won Friday night, 7-6 (3), 6-2.
''He's probably the best server we have in the game,''
Djokovic said. ''But I managed to get a lot of serves back. That was one of the
keys in the match, making him play and getting into the rally and making him
work extra.''
The No. 1-seeded Djokovic closed to within one win of
his fifth Key Biscayne title. His opponent Sunday will be two-time champion Andy Murray, who defeated Tomas Berdych 6-4, 6-4.
Murray's big month is off to quite a start. He's also
getting married next week.
Djokovic became the first player in the tournament to
break Isner, and managed another break two games later. He actually outserved
the 6-foot-10 American, totaling 10 aces to nine for Isner, and never faced a
break point.Hi. I’m an Enginner by profession blogger by choice. I’ve never had the right words to describe my life, and now that I've entered my story, I need them more than ever.
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