World number one Novak Djokovic rolled into the Miami Open semi-finals with a 6-3 6-3 romp over Tomas Berdych on Wednesday as he continued his pursuit of a fifth title in six years on Key Biscayne.
Djokovic did not face the difficulty that he had in his fourth round match, when he was forced to fend off 14-of-15 break points, while he also attacked Berdych’s second serve to advance to a clash with Belgium’s David Goffin after 99 minutes.
Goffin beat France’s Gilles Simon 3-6 6-2 6-1 in the day’s other quarter-final.
Djokovic’s triumph over Berdych continued a trend of domination with the Serb clocking up his 10th consecutive victory over the Czech.
“Obviously it does have a certain effect,” Djokovic told reporters of the lopsided record.
“Maybe (it) factors in the mental side coming into the match.”
Berdych was coming off a marathon win against Richard Gasquet on Tuesday and did not have enough left to challenge Djokovic. He won just six of his 23 second service points and was broken four times.
The match began with Berdych nearly breaking Djokovic’s opening service game and then successfully stealing the third game but he quickly lost momentum en route to committing 45 unforced errors.
Djokovic improved to 26-1 this year with his only defeat coming in February, when he was forced to retire against Spain’s Feliciano Lopez in Dubai due to an eye infection.
Injuries seem to be the only force capable of stopping the Serb at the moment and although Djokovic called a medical timeout for a back ailment in the middle of the second set, he quickly shook it off to win three of the last four games.
He has yet to drop a set in Miami, despite his issues with Austria’s Dominic Thiem in the fourth round.
“If I may say, I do feel better this year than I had felt last year at the very same stage of the season,” he said.
“That definitely satisfies me, and I’m hoping I can continue on and keep the same trajectory.”
In the women’s event, Victoria Azarenka withstood some early pressure from Britain’s Johanna Konta to continue her quest for a third Miami Open title with a 6-4 6-2 quarter-final victory on Wednesday.
Azarenka, who 11 days ago beat Serena Williams to win the Indian Wells title in California, was too consistent for the 24th-seeded Konta in the end to keep alive her bid to capture the second half of the Sunshine Double.
She will now face second seed Angelique Kerber, who beat American Madison Keys 6-3 6-2.
Konta, playing her first quarter-final of a WTA Premier event after making her first grand slam semi-final at the Australian Open in January, more than held her own in a first set played in blustery conditions.
Azarenka, however, rose to the occasion to fend off five break points, while Konta double-faulted twice to drop serve as the Belarusian took charge in just over 90 minutes.
“She’s such a great player,” eighth-ranked Azarenka, the 2009 and 2011 champion, told ESPN. “I see a lot of potential.”
Kerber, who won the Australian Open, lost the opening match of her two previous tournaments but was helped by 39 unforced errors by Keys, the last American remaining in either draw, who was not able to put much pressure on her German opponent.