Novak Djokovic Powers Into Miami Open Semifinals, Sabalenka Dominates Women’s Draw

Novak Djokovic is picking up momentum in South Florida after a slow start to the 2025 season. The Serbian tennis star, aiming for his seventh Miami Open title, defeated American Sebastian Korda 6-3, 7-6 (4) in a high-energy quarterfinal match on Thursday. The contest, which lasted 1 hour and 24 minutes, had been postponed from Wednesday night due to scheduling conflicts after a lengthy women’s quarterfinal match between Jessica Pegula and Emma Raducanu.

With this win, the 37-year-old Djokovic advances to the semifinals on Friday, where he will face Bulgaria’s Grigor Dimitrov. Djokovic holds a dominant 12-1 record against Dimitrov, who was a finalist at this tournament in 2024.

Djokovic, who previously won all six of his Miami Open titles when the event was held at Key Biscayne, is chasing his milestone 100th professional title.

“I’m getting great support,” Djokovic said after the match. “I feel I have a really good chance to go all the way here. …I’m playing the best I have in some time.”

A Thrilling Comeback

Despite facing an American opponent, Djokovic had strong backing from the Hard Rock Stadium crowd, who cheered his name throughout the match. The Serbian found himself trailing 4-1 in the second set but rallied to force a tiebreaker, eventually clinching the victory with an ace on match point. He finished the match with an impressive 83% first-serve success rate.

After securing the win, Djokovic let out a celebratory yell and mimicked playing a violin with his racket.

“One word — serve,” Djokovic said when asked about his second-set resurgence. “I was serving very well. Best serving performance in a long time.”

Djokovic’s Road to Recovery

The 24-time Grand Slam champion has struggled with form this year. His season started with an injury-forced retirement at the Australian Open in January. Earlier this month, he was knocked out in the first round at Indian Wells by Botic Van De Zandschulp, marking an unexpected early exit in the first half of the “Sunshine Double.”

His opponent, 24th-seeded Korda, had been in excellent form leading up to the match. The young American, who grew up training in Florida and is the son of Grand Slam champion Petr Korda, had earlier stunned top-10 player Stefanos Tsitsipas. He played at a high level to build a 4-1 lead in the second set but could not maintain his advantage as Djokovic turned up the intensity.

Sabalenka Cruises Into the Final

On the women’s side, top-seeded Aryna Sabalenka delivered a dominant performance, defeating sixth-seeded Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-2 in just 71 minutes to secure her spot in the Miami Open final.

Paolini, a 2024 French Open finalist, struggled to counter Sabalenka’s precision and power. At times, she could only smile in disbelief at Sabalenka’s shot-making.

Sabalenka converted four out of five break points and hit 31 winners while committing just 12 unforced errors. When Paolini attempted a late comeback in the second set, closing to 4-2 with a double-break point at 15-40, Sabalenka responded with three well-placed winners and an ace to shut down any hope of a turnaround.

“I think I was so focused and everything went smoothly,” Sabalenka said after the match.

The Belarusian, who has not dropped a set in the tournament so far, will now face the winner of the semifinal match between Pegula and teenage sensation Alexandra Eala of the Philippines.

Asked if she planned to watch the upcoming match or enjoy a night out in Miami, Sabalenka joked, “I usually go for dinner, but other than that, it’s always tennis on my TV, actually. I’m actually enjoying, like, watching tennis lately. That’s crazy. I’m getting old.”

Young Star Mensik Reaches First Masters Semifinal

In the men’s draw, 19-year-old Jakub Mensik continued his impressive run, defeating 17th-seeded Arthur Fils 7-6 (7-5), 6-1 to advance to his first-ever semifinal at an ATP 1000 event.

The young Czech held his nerve in a tight first-set tiebreaker before storming through the second set with a commanding 4-0 lead. Mensik sealed the victory with a stunning crosscourt forehand winner, wrapping up the match in just 75 minutes.

Mensik, currently ranked 54th in the world, hit 13 aces and looked confident throughout the match. He will now face the winner of the quarterfinal showdown between American Taylor Fritz and Italy’s Matteo Berrettini.

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