Novak Djokovic eases into fourth round of Miami Open
Monday 28 March 2016 00:25, UK
Novak Djokovic advanced to the fourth round of the Miami Open with a comfortable 6-4 6-1 win over Portugal's Joao Sousa.
Two-time defending champion Djokovic, trying to match Andre Agassi's record of six career Miami titles, needed only 78 minutes to win his 12th match in a row at the hardcourt event and 26th in his past 27 Miami starts.
"That first set could have gone either way," world No 1 Djokovic said. "I managed to hit the right balls at the right moment and make it to the finish."
The 28-year-old Serbian, who won his 11th Grand Slam crown at the Australian Open two months ago, has already won titles in Doha and Indian Wells this year and is looking to complete the Miami-Indian Wells sweep for the third consecutive year.
Sousa fell to 0-3 against Djokovic and 1-21 against top-10 players, with his 19th such loss in a row since beating David Ferrer in Kuala Lumpur in 2013.
Djokovic's next opponent will be Austrian 14th seed Dominic Thiem, who dispatched 124th-ranked Japanese qualifier Yoshihito Nishioka 6-2 6-2 in just over an hour.
Argentina's Horacio Zeballos, a lucky loser who replaced unwell Roger Federer in the draw, also progressed to the fourth round, rallying to beat Spain's Fernando Verdasco 1-6 6-4 7-6.
Zeballos, ranked 112th, had not won a match since last July before beating countryman Juan Martin Del Potro in the second round.
After winning two matches in a row for the first time in more than two years, he will face Belgian 15th seed David Goffin on Tuesday for a quarter-final berth.
