Zimpapers Logo

MIAMI. — World number one Novak Djokovic was struggling to play his best, but held firm when pressed to the brink and battled into the ATP and WTA Miami Open tennis quarter-finals on Tuesday.

The two-time defending champion outduelled Austrian 14th seed Dominic Thiem 6-3, 6-4, stretching his Miami win streak to 13 matches to book a last-eight date against Czech seventh seed Tomas Berdych.

“Straight set win but far from easy. It was a tough match,” Djokovic said. “I kept my nerves. But I made a lot of double faults and he had me under a lot of pressure.” Djokovic, rescued 13 of 14 break points, four of them in the last game of the first set and four more in a dramatic 14-minute final game. — AFP.