Novak delighted to end hard-court season with title

Victory in Miami completes a successful hard-court campaign for the Australian Open champion.He will start the long clay-court season with the Monte Carlo Masters later this month.

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic says he played the best match of the tournament in the Miami Open finals.

Novak Djokovic was delighted to have produced another fine hard-court display to beat Kei Nishikori on Sunday and claim a sixth Miami Open title.

The World No. 1 followed up his victory in Indian Wells last week with a comfortable defence of his Miami crown, the Serb winning 6-3, 6-3 to secure a record 28th ATP 1000 triumph.

Nishikori had started well with an early break but once Djokovic warmed to the task he was not to be denied, the top seed cruising to a straight-sets win in under 90 minutes.

"Obviously [I am] very pleased with the way I've played today," he told Sky Sports . "I think the two best matches of the hard-court season in Indian Wells and Miami came in the finals, so I couldn't [have] picked a better time to perform my best game. 

"The first set was a battle, the second set I had started feeling more comfortably in my own service games and putting a lot of pressure on his service games. Overall it was a very solid performance, I am very pleased, I can't ask for a better start to the season."

Monte Carlo, the next challenge

Victory in Miami completes a successful hard-court campaign for the Australian Open champion, and he now turns his attentions to the clay and the Monte Carlo Masters later this month. He added: "I look forward to Monte Carlo, that's where I live, it is the club I visit the most and where I practice, it feels like a home tournament.

"I obviously want to focus on the next event, everyone keeps talking about [the French Open at] Roland Garros and my chances there but it is a long clay-court season, so I need to build and see how my body feels, and have a positive frame of mind. 

"I'm sure I'm going to give myself a fair chance."

Meanwhile, Nishikori rued a difficult day and a sixth successive loss against Djokovic. "It was a really tough one," Nishikori said. "He has great defence, so it's tough to break his game. And it was windy. So I couldn't really be too aggressive because the ball was moving and it was tough to do that. 

"He was very patient and he didn't miss. It's always so tough to play Novak."