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SPORTSSaturday 2 April 2016
Djokovic seeks 6th Miami Open title against Nishikori
STEVEN WINE Novak Djokovic, of Serbia, grimaces after he jumped to return a shot against David Goffin, of tertaining match. He dug
AP Sports Writer Belgium, duringa semifinal match at the Miami Open tennis tournament in Key Biscayne, Fla., out shots in both corners
KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. (AP) — Friday, April 1, 2016. Djokovic won 7-6 (5), 6-4. and chased down a pair
Basking in cheers following of volleys, finally switching
his latest victory, a weary Associated Press from defense to offense
but happy Novak Djokovic by flicking a lob too high
kissed his hand and pat- hope I can play another 2006 champion Svetlana point in the tiebreaker and for the 5-foot-11 Goffin to
ted the stadium court good match.” Kuznetsova in the women’s worked hard to win it with handle.
concrete, celebrating his Two-time champion Vic- final Saturday. a frantic 16-shot exchange That clinched the set, and
return to the Miami Open toria Azarenka plays Djokovic reached set typical that typified the en- as fans roared, the world’s
final. No. 1 player walked to his
In sweltering semifinal sun- Continued on next Page chair with his index finger
shine Friday, Djokovic won aloft.
a thrilling tiebreaker to The tiebreaker turned
beat David Goffin 7-6 (5), four points earlier, at 4-all.
6-4. The margin was so slim Goffin had an easy put-
a blown overhead by Gof- away overhead near the
fin might have made all net and inexplicably hit
the difference. it directly to a surprised
Djokovic needs one more Djokovic, who invented a
victory to match Andre shot in response, raising the
Agassi’s tournament re- racket strings in front of his
cord of six men’s titles, face to patty-cake a deep
which is why he showed his lob. Goffin chased the ball
affection for the court. down and the rally contin-
“A little kiss for goodbye ued until Djokovic tapped
and see you in two days,” a drop volley for a winner.
Djokovic said. “I wanted “I was a bit fortunate in the
to make the court feel my tiebreaker,” Djokovic said.
love. It’s one of my favorite “But I made him play al-
courts.” ways an extra shot.”
His opponent Sunday will Djokovic also earned
be steady Kei Nishikori, who points for sportsmanship.
committed only eight un- When Goffin challenged a
forced errors in 119 points call while returning serve,
and beat big-swinging Djokovic waved off the re-
Nick Kyrgios 6-3, 7-5. play, indicating it was un-
Seeded No. 6, Nishikori needed because the lines-
saved five match points in man’s ruling was correct.
a quarterfinal victory over “Really fair play,” Goffin
Gael Monfils, and built a said, before noting with
more comfortable margin a chuckle that Djokovic
against Kyrgios by break- went on to win the point
ing serve four times. anyway.
Nishikori is bidding for his Eager to avoid a third set
first ATP Masters title, while on an 87-degree after-
Djokovic will try for his 28th, noon, Djokovic earned the
which would break the re- only break of the second
cord he shares with Rafael set to take a 4-3 lead and
Nadal. lost only one point in his fi-
“It’s going to be tough, for nal two service games.
sure,” Nishikori said. “He “Physically it was a great
has been playing well. I battle with a lot of ex-
changes from the base-
Woods line,” Djokovic said. “We
were both trying to catch
He returned in June after however, indicated prog- our breath at some points.”
ress without mentioning Djokovic showed no signs
the U.S. Open, took three how much or when he of lingering issues from the
might be back. back spasms that both-
more months off at the end “I’m absolutely making ered him in the quarterfi-
progress, and I’m really nals.
of the year to get fit, and happy with how far I’ve He improved to 27-1 this
come,” Woods said. “But year as he closed in on his
then ran into trouble with I still have no timetable to fourth title of 2016.
return to competitive golf.” On Key Biscayne, where
his back again last year. Woods has said all along he has won 15 consecu-
that he will not rush back. tive matches, he’s bid-
Woods tied for 10th in the He turned 40 on Dec. 30, ding for his third title in a
and his last victory was at row. He has reached the
Wyndham Champion- the Bridgestone Invitational final of his past 11 Masters
in August 2013.q tournaments.q
ship in August, only to an-
nounce a month later that
he had a second back sur-
gery. He had a third back
surgery on Oct. 28 that left In this Saturday, Aug. 22, 2015 file photo, Tiger Woods tees off on
the second hole during the third round of the Wyndham Cham-
his future more uncertain pionship golf tournament at Sedgefield Country Club in Greens-
boro, N.C.
than ever.
Associated Press
His statement Friday night,
