The record will indicate that Novak Djokovic made relatively routine work of Dominic Thiem in the fourth round Miami Open on Wednesday afternoon. A far more accurate picture, however, is painted by both the statistics and the proverbial eye test. Anyone who was in attendance at stadium court surely appreciated the entertaining contest to which they were treated, even though Djokovic finished the job in seemingly dominant 6-3, 6-4 fashion.
A much different story could have unfolded if Thiem had been able to come up with the goods at the pressure-packed moments. Instead, the 14th-ranked Austrian squandered 14 of 15 break points and the only one he converted came via a Djokovic double-fault.
In the first set, Thiem survived a three-deuce game and fought off one set point to hold for 3-5. He then had four break points to get back on serve, but Djokovic battled trough a four-deuce game to close it out. With the top-seeded Serb serving for the match at 5-4 in the second, he saved four more break points, navigated seven deuces, and finally converted a fourth match point to prevail after one hour and 49 minutes.
“It [was] going to end sooner or later,” Djokovic said. “Generally I don’t face that many break points, but conversion of break points from my opponent today was only one out of [15], so that’s a positive in a way. But I’ll try not to get myself in those positions too much…. It was a straight-set win, but far from easy. It was a tough match.”
“Today (there) were positive and negative things,” Thiem posted on his Facebook page. “I can take advantage of (them) in the future…. I couldn’t take advantage of my [break points]; I only converted one out of 15; that’s [not enough], especially when your opponent is the No. 1 in the world.
“Nevertheless, I am happy about my performance here in Miami; I was able to gain some new experience and now I am heading, of course a little bit disappointed, back home. Next up, clay-court season!”
The hard-court proceedings will continue at least one more round for Djokovic, and for Gael Monfils. Joining Djokovic in the quarters by also advancing on Tuesday were Monfils, Milos Raonic, Tomas Berdych, Nick Kyrgios, David Goffin, and Gilles Simon. Monfils recovered from a set deficit to outlast Grigor Dimitrov 6-7(5), 6-3, 6-3 in a day-session match that went well into the night.
After going down an immediate break in the third set, the Frenchman broke right back and earned another scalp of the Dimitrov serve at 4-3 before shutting the door at love in emphatic fashion. By lasting exactly two and a half hours, it forced the Kei Nishikori vs. Roberto Bautista Agut clash to be moved from the stadium to the Grandstand.
Photos courtesy of Miami Tennis News
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