Djokovic, Goffin to meet in Miami semis

Goffin overcame a slow start to beat Gilles Simon in their last-eight clash at the ATP 1000 event on Wednesday. Awaiting him is Djokovic, who dominated Tomas Berdych once again to advance at a tournament he has won five times.

Published : Mar 31, 2016 11:28 IST , Miami

Serbian Novak Djokovic dominated in his win over Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open on Wednesday.
Serbian Novak Djokovic dominated in his win over Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open on Wednesday.
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Serbian Novak Djokovic dominated in his win over Tomas Berdych in the quarterfinals of the Miami Open on Wednesday.

David Goffin faces the unenviable task of meeting Novak Djokovic after the duo reached the Miami Open semifinals. Goffin overcame a slow start to beat Gilles Simon in their last-eight clash at the ATP 1000 event on Wednesday.

Awaiting him is Djokovic, who dominated Tomas Berdych once again to advance at a tournament he has won five times.

Djokovic dominates

Serbian World No. 1 Djokovic made it 23 wins in 25 matches against Czech Berdych, claiming a 6-3, 6-3 victory. The win was also Djokovic's 10th consecutive over Berdych, an incredible streak dating back to 2013.

A Berdych victory never looked likely at the ATP 1000 event, broken on his opening two service games to be immediately on the back foot. Djokovic also broke to start the second set and while he required a medical timeout for treatment on his back, he closed out victory in one hour, 40 minutes.

Goffin fights past Simon

The Belgian missed his chances early before completing a 3-6, 6-2, 6-1 victory over Simon in the day's opening quarterfinal. Goffin failed to convert any of his six break points in the first set and was punished, but he took his opportunities after that. He broke three times in the second set and twice more in the third to win inside two hours.

Simon had managed to pinch the first set despite winning just seven return points. In the third set, the Frenchman won just four points against the Goffin serve – leaving him with no chance.

Such has been Djokovic's dominance against Berdych, the Czech has won just two sets in his 10 consecutive losses to the Serbian.

Early misses

"I had so many opportunities to come back in the set. I didn't take my opportunities to come back," he said.

"I knew that the level was there and I had to keep going like this, just to stay more focused on some shots to finish the points. Maybe just be more precise, because I knew that I was feeling really good."

Kyrgios, Raonic to meet

The other semifinalists will be decided on Thursday, with Kei Nishikori taking on Gael Monfils in one last-eight clash. The other will see big servers Milos Raonic and Nick Kyrgios do battle.

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