Novak Djokovic is one win away from a 100th career singles title after breezing past Grigor Dimitrov 6-2, 6-3 on Friday to reach the Miami Open final, where he will face either third-seeded Taylor Fritz or rising Czech Jakub Mensik.
After being broken to start the match, Djokovic quickly settled, breaking back in the next game and again for a 4-2 advantage on a mis-hit forehand by 14th-seeded Dimitrov.
The Serbian pocketed the first set when the Bulgarian’s volley sailed long and, he maintained the momentum in the second to race to a 3-0 lead.
Djokovic pounded an unreturnable serve on his second match point to improve to a 13-1 career record against Dimitrov.
The 4-seed’s serving masterclass in South Florida showed no sign of letting up in the semifinal. He missed just six first serves while pounding five aces to one double fault.
“After that first game, where I don’t think I did anything wrong, he just played a phenomenal game to break my serve, I just felt I was in the flow,” Djokovic told the Tennis Channel.
“I was playing all the right shots, making him play an extra shot … overall another great straight-sets win to put myself in a fantastic position to fight for a trophy in two days.”
Djokovic has played 307 ATP Tour-level tournaments in his storied career and triumphed in 99 of them. Of the 76 Grand Slams he has entered, he has won a men’s-record 24.
American Jimmy Connors won 109 singles titles during the Open Era, and Swiss great Roger Federer captured 103.
Djokovic will be the favorite in Sunday’s final to win a seventh Miami Open crown, which would break his tie with Andre Agassi for most titles at the Masters 1000 event.
Inter Miami star Lionel Messi was among those at Hard Rock Stadium watching 37-year-old Djokovic, who is widely considered the greatest men’s player of all time.
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