Djokovic topples predictable Berdych in Miami Open quarters

KEY BISCAYNE, Fla.—To beat Novak Djokovic these days, it takes something close to a miracle—or a severe eye infection. Tomas Berdych got neither of those on Wednesday night, as Djokovic took him out, 6-3, 6-3, to reach the Miami Open semifinals.

Djokovic now leads their head-to-head record 23-2, but that’s not really news when it comes to Berdych. The world No. 7 has a losing record against every player in the Top 10 except Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, and his record against Djokovic is the worst of all.

“Obviously it does have a certain effect," Djokovic said of the dominating record. "Maybe [it] factors in the mental side coming into the match."

Djokovic’s game is built on his rubbery legs, which often glide into impossibly lengthy hard-court slides. He throws himself so fully into reaching balls that he falls almost every match. Berdych, on the other hand, is stiff and stoic with his movement; he's more likely to use his 6’5” frame to lunge than to take the extra step.

Both have clinical strokes, but Berdych's mechanics are far more robotic, and he lacks the ability to get innovative when necessary. Djokovic, on the other hand, is willing to get that extra ball back with something extra special on it.

Those are some of the many reasons that Djokovic is 26-1 this year, with that sole loss coming after he retired with an eye infection against Feliciano Lopez in Dubai.

“If I may say, I do feel better this year than I had felt last year at the very same stage of the season,” he said. “That definitely satisfies me, and I’m hoping I can continue on and keep the same trajectory…”

The match late on Wednesday began in a strange manner, with Djokovic nearly losing serve in the first game. Berdych struggled in his own right and dropped his first service game.

In the third game, Djokovic uncharacteristically gave the break right back to Berdych. The Czech is far more likely than Djokovic to make the first error, and the Serb brilliantly forced him to make one extra shot. When the match was over, Berdych had racked up 35 unforced errors to Djokovic’s eight.

You’d expect a guy standing as tall as Berdych to have little trouble holding serve, but he managed to get into a 5-2 hole after yet another lost service game. The conditions were windy, it must be noted, thanks in part to lingering rain showers in the area.

Berdych is a predictable player, as predictable as his ranking has been for years. He’s stayed inside the Top 10 for almost six straight years, and while he has only made one Grand Slam final (in 2010), he’s a consistent threat to go deep at all the majors. It was in the Wimbledon semifinals in 2010 that Berdych scored his most recent win over Djokovic.

“He’s an established Top 10 player, he’s an experienced player,” Djokovic said. “He has had so many big matches, and he’s not overwhelmed by the occasion of playing on a big stadium against top players.”

Berdych still lacks that extra spark, that extra little something that can throw off the players ahead of him. Now, without the floral print and soccer jersey striped patterns of H&M, both his on-court look and his game are subdued and, yes, predictable.

Djokovic pocketed the first set 6-3. Neither player hit a single ace in the opening set, and while Berdych won a higher percentage of points off both his first and second serves, he ended up getting broken twice. Djokovic just plays the critical points a lot tougher than most players, even the ones inside the Top 10.

The greatest difference also lied in unforced errors. In the first set, Djokovic had four winners and four errors, while Berdych had eight winners to 25 errors. With lopsided stats like that, it’s impossible to win against almost anyone.

Much was made of the crowd’s lack of support for Djokovic in his earlier-round win over next-generation star Dominic Thiem. The crowd was salivating for a chance to see a young star upend a veteran.

That lack of support actually plagues Djokovic fairly often, but for once the crowd wasn’t rooting for the underdog. Berdych, who at 30 years old also sits firmly in the veteran zone, didn’t give the fans much to work with.

Case in point: A Berdych double fault handed the opening game of the second set to Djokovic.

Down 0-40 in the second game, Berdych ripped a lethal forehand return in an effort to throw Djokovic off. But he can’t pull off those sorts of shots on a regular basis. It’s partially why he’s not in the Top 5 more often, and why he hasn’t spent more time on Grand Slam podiums.

Sporadic moments of brilliant firepower simply won’t subdue an 11-time Grand Slam champion.

The action was briefly halted at 3-2 when Djokovic called a medical timeout for his back. Injuries and illness have plagued the tournament, yet somehow the 28-year-old has remained unscathed. (Knock on wood.) Six retirements and four withdrawals have torn up the men’s draw. (Both Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer exited early.)

But Djokovic got up off the stadium floor and played on. It was getting late, and he had better places to be.

“The [weather] conditions on the court were tough for the rhythm on serve," Djokovic said. "Once you toss the ball you can’t quite predict where it’s going to end up. That’s why I think I felt a little bit of [a] spasm in the back … [But there are] no concerns [moving forward], not at all.”

He kept rolling to go up 5-3. The most exciting moment of the match may have been when Berdych saved the first match point with a deft backhand dropper, a rare moment of finesse from the Czech. Djokovic still got the break, and the match.

“I think that this was, overall, from the first point to the last, the best match I’ve played of the tournament,” he said. “It comes at the right stage of the event for me.”

Those words should make his next opponent, David Goffin, wary. Wednesday was just another day at the office for Djokovic as he seeks his sixth Miami Open title (and third straight).

Djokovic will, in all likelihood, enjoy another straightforward workday when he takes on the Belgian in the semifinals on Friday.