• ATP Tour

Novak Djokovic flies into last-16

ESPN staff
March 24, 2013
Novak Djokovic was hardly tested as he sealed a comfortable win © Getty Images
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World No. 1 Novak Djokovic is comfortably into the last-16 of the Sony Open in Miami after being untroubled in a 6-2 6-4 victory over Somdev Devvarman.

The Serb is aiming to become the first man in a decade since Andre Agassi to win three Miami Masters on the spin, and against Devvarman he was hardly pushed.

Djokovic will be tested on Monday though when he faces an in-form Tommy Haas in the next round, this after the experienced German came through a 6-3 6-2 winner over Alexandr Dolgopolov.

Djokovic made a blistering start to the encounter by winning the opening three games, racing into a 3-0 lead.

Devvarman did manage to get a game on the board by taking the fourth game, but that only spurred Djokovic on as a second love-service game made it 4-1.

Devvarman held serve to halve the deficit at 4-2. However, Djokovic was in a rush and stormed to the first set by very quickly winning the next two games, hitting a couple of stunning winners and getting the better of his opponent in the rallies.

Looking like he was a beaten man early on, Devvarman was making life a little more difficult for Djokovic in the second set as the Indian shared the first four games with the Serb.

The resistance was soon to be broken as Djokovic was handed the break after a poor service game from Devvarman in the fifth game.

The Australian Open champion consolidated the advantage by cracking winners to make his serve look so easy, and while Devvarman stuck near him at 4-3 and 5-4 and produced his best shot of the match with a forehand winner down the line, it was too little too late as Djokovic saved a break point and closed out an easy victory on his serve.

Another Serb was celebrating on Sunday as Janko Tipsarevic joined Djokovic in the last-16 by coming from behind to knock out Kevin Anderson.

After losing the first set 6-4, Tipsarevic was able to force a deciding set by clinching the second 7-5. However, when getting medical assistance on a leg injury his chances of winning the game were slowly disappearing. But, Anderson did not take advantage and Tipsarevic battled the injury to book a spot in the next round.

World No. 5 David Ferrer had no trouble in reaching the fourth round after beating Fabio Fognini 6-1 7-5.

The Paris Masters champion needed only under an hour and 20 minutes to get the job done, and is looking to secure a third triumph of the season having won in Auckland and Buenos Aires.

The little Spaniard broke the serve of Fognini twice in the opening set en route to dropping one game. When he broke early in the second set it appeared he was going to cruise to the next round.

However, Fognini showed some character and managed to get the set back on serve and briefly lead for the first time in the match. Ferrer seemed to have lost his concentration, but time after time the 30-year-old has come fighting back, and in Miami it was to be no different as he secured an important second break in the 11th game before serving for the set at 7-5 and clinching a straight-sets victory.

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