NEW DELHI: Top-ranked Novak Djokovic advanced to his first final since winning the Australian Open by beating Juan Monaco 6-0, 7-6 (5) on Friday at the Sony Ericsson Open.
Djokovic’s opponent Sunday will be 2009 champion Andy Murray, who advanced with a walkover when Rafael Nadal withdrew hours before their semifinal because of a left knee injury. Nadal said the injury has been getting worse, but he hopes for a quick recovery to avoid missing any of the upcoming clay-court season.
Djokovic won a quick first set and a 96-minute second set against Monaco, a dogged Argentine playing in only his second Masters 1000 semifinal. Djokovic took the lead for good in the tiebreaker when he won a 26-stroke rally to go up 4-3.
The grinding tiebreaker rallies twice left Monaco with his hands on his knees trying to recover afterward. On match point, he put a weary forehand into the net.
The drama at the finish seemed unlikely when Djokovic dominated at the start. The first set took only 27 minutes, and Monaco won just seven points, two on double-faults by Djokovic.
Thanks to South Florida’s large Argentine population, Monaco had plenty of support from the capacity crowd. Fans sang in Spanish, encouraging a comeback, and he obliged.
His first serve kept him in the second set, and Djokovic wobbled briefly. Serving at 5-4, he fell behind love-40, erased all three break points but then double-faulted. Monaco finally broke when Djokovic pushed a forehand into the net for 5-5.
But Djokovic’s experience in big matches showed at the finish. He improved to 89-8 since the beginning of last year.
Monaco fell to 0-5 against the Serb, winning just one of 13 sets.
Djokovic is seeking his third Key Biscayne title and second in a row. He has a 7-5 record against Murray and won when they met in the Australian Open semifinals in January. (Agencies)