Tennis legend Novak Djokovic recorded a hard-fought 6-1 7-6 (7-1) win over Camilo Ugo Carabelli to book a place in the second round of the Miami Open.
Djokovic dominated the early part of the tie, winning first set in just 34 minutes and broke early in the second.
Carabelli started to find his way back into the contest forcing the tie break but the Serbian showed his experience to seal the victory with a tie-break of 7-1.
It was Djokovic’s 411 win in ATP Masters 1000 events, moving him ahead of Rafael Nadal, and into top spot on the all-time list.
The 37-year-old was delighted to add another feather to his cap.
He said: “I’m honoured to have another milestone, another record broken.
“There’s always something on the line pretty much every time I play, and of course that motivates me to do well at tournaments.”
Djokovic revealed that he is not bothered about rankings after the early exits of the players just behind him in the top ten of the ATP Rankings.
He said: “Rankings are not so important for me now.
“My objective is to be able to play my best tennis on the Grand Slams and the tournaments where I participate. My schedule is revised, so obviously I’m not chasing the ranking points and everything.
“It’s different nowadays maybe than it was a few years back, for most of my career to be honest. I’m happy to win a Grand Slam and a big tournament rather than getting to No 1. Right now that’s more important for me.”
The likes of Daniil Medvedev, Andrey Rublev, Stefanos Tsitsipas, and Jack Draper all crashed out in the early round of the Miami Open.
Djokovic will take on Lorenzo Musetti in the second round of the Miami Open as he targets his seventh title in America.
ATP Masters 1000 Match Win Leaders
Player W/L Titles
Novak Djokovic 411-91 40
Rafael Nadal 410-90 36
Roger Federer 381-108 28
Andy Murray 230-101 14
Andre Agassi 209-73 17
Tomas Berdych 191-117 1
Pete Sampras 190-70 11
David Ferrer 189-122 1
Stan Wawrinka 166-123 1
Andy Roddick 157-70 5
Djokovic Breaks Nadal’s Record At Miami Open is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
Source: The Whistler
