Six-time Miami Open champion Novak Djokovic produced a dominant performance to launch his campaign with a straight-set triumph over world No. 86 Rinky Hijikata, playing in Miami for the first time since 2019 on Friday afternoon.
Fourth seed Novak Djokovic sailed past Australian Rinky Hijikata 6-0, 7-6(1) in 80 minutes at Hard Rock Stadium to start his quest for a record 7th title at the Miami Open presented by Itau in dominant fashion on Friday afternoon.
The 24-time major champion tied Rafael Nadal for most Masters 1000 wins in the series history (410) in his record 501st match at this level.
In his on-court interview, the Serbian commented: “I was playing really well, at a very high level from the beginning. I knew exactly what I wanted to do tactically.”
In the third round, he will meet Argentine lucky loser Camilo Ugo Carabelli, who came back from a set down to defeat home hope Alex Michelsen 6-7(3), 7-5, 6-3 after two hours and 32 minutes.
The 25-year-old Argentine and Djokovic have never faced one another before at tour level.
The Match as It Happened
The 37-year-old took control of the opening set with an early break and held to earn a 3-0 lead.
From that moment on, it turned into a one-sided affair as the 24-year-old Australian failed to find solutions against the former world number one, who played at a high level, dictating play from the onset.
Moreover, a sharp serving performance would see Djokovic breaking in the fourth and sixth games, cruising to seal the opener 6-0 in just 28 minutes.
As the second set wore on, Hijikata adjusted his game, playing aggressively.
In the sixth game, the Australian efforts paid off, coming back from 0-40 to hold serve, setting level at 3-3.
Nonetheless, the world No. 5 stayed the course, holding at love to jump ahead 4-3.
Furthermore, the 99-time ATP titlist recorded his 16th consecutive point behind his serve to surge in front 5-4.
The Aussie held his ground, taking risks while sprinting forward, forcing a second-set tiebreak, which Djokovic kicked off by hitting his eighth ace in the match.
Moving well, wise on the return, he applied pressure upon his young rival to wrap up the tiebreaker 7-6(1), advancing into the third round.
The 2024 Paris Olympics men’s singles gold medalist fired 21 winners against 12 unforced errors compared to Hijikata 18 and 22, respectively.
In addition, he won 85 percent of the points on his first serve and converted three of 10 break points.
