Novak Djokovic made an encouraging claim after booking his spot in the Miami Open final. The world No. 5 thrashed Grigor Dimitrov, needing just over an hour to earn his 13th career victory over the Bulgarian, coming through 6-2 6-3.
Now through to his first final since the Shanghai Masters last October, the Serb will have the chance to win a milestone 100th title when he faces either Taylor Fritz of Jakub Mensik on Sunday. And his next opponent is in for a tough test as Djokovic has shared a promising update about his level.
It’s been a tough few months for Djokovic, who recently went on a three-match losing streak spanning the Australian Open, Qatar Open and Indian Wells. The 24-time Major winner has also not won a title since he clinched a long-awaited gold medal at the Olympics last summer.
But the 37-year-old has rediscovered his best form this fortnight, and he has now fired an ominous warning to his next opponent, admitting he feels as good as he did at the Paris 2024 Games.
After reaching his 142nd career final, Djokovic told Sky Sports: “It feels great, obviously without dropping a set, and I thought I wouldn’t beat the percentage of the first serves in from the last match. It was 83 [per cent], now 87.
“Now I know how it feels to be John Isner, I guess! [Ivo] Karlovic and [Reilly] Opelka and these guys. It makes your life easier on the court.”
Although he struggled with the wind, the fourth seed had nothing to complain about. “Overall tricky conditions today, very swirly, the wind was not consistent, it was changing a lot. Not easy to find the control of the ball,” he continued.
“But I haven’t dropped a set and I’ve been feeling really as good as I probably felt since Olympics last year.”
It’s no surprise Djokovic has been happy with his serving. He missed just six first serves against Dimitrov and was also firing against Sebastian Korda in Thursday’s quarter.final.
“Best shot this tournament without a doubt is the first serve,” he added.
“You can’t beat 80+ per cent in consecutive matches. I’ve been returning decent as well, trying to play aggressive from the back of the court.”
Djokovic will be the heavy favourite going into Sunday’s final, as he has never lost a match against either of his potential opponents. The Serb is 10-0 against Fritz and 1-0 against Mensik.
If he can lift the trophy, Djokovic will become just the third male player to win a century of titles after Jimmy Connors – who has 109 – and his old rival Roger Federer, who ended his career with 103.
