Miami Open: Djokovic battles past Camilo to reach last 16

MIAMI: Novak Djokovic set one record on Sunday at the 2025 Miami Open presented by Itau. Could there be more to come?

The Serbian defeated Camilo Ugo Carabelli 6-1, 7-6(1) to book his fourth-round spot at Hard Rock Stadium. It was Djokovic’s 411th match win at Masters 1000 events, moving him clear of his great rival Rafael Nadal for the most in series history (since 1990). He also remained on course for a record seventh title at the hard-court event in Florida with his triumph against lucky loser Carabelli.

“I’m honoured to have another milestone, another record broken,” said Djokovic. “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 raced to the first set in his maiden Lexus ATP Head2Head meeting with Carabelli and appeared to have taken complete control when he broke his opponent’s serve in the third game of the second. Yet the Argentine dug deep to immediately reclaim the break and held firm behind serve from then on to force a tie-break.

There was little Ugo Carabelli could do to cling on in the tie-break, however, as the 99-time tour-level titlist Djokovic raised his level to complete his one-hour, 45-minute win. The Serbian finished the match having won 80 per cent (39/49) of points behind his first serve, according to Infosys ATP Stats.

“I started off really well, 6-1, very similar to the first match two days ago," reflected Djokovic. "Things got complicated in the second. I broke his serve, he rebroke my serve, and then we were kind of going toe to toe. I had some chances at 4-4 but I think it was fair to take the second set to a tie-break. Then, like two days ago, a perfect tie-break. Great serving when I needed to, and overall just pleased to get through.”

Djokovic arrived in Miami on a three-match losing streak, but the 37-year-old is yet to drop a set after two matches of his first Miami appearance since 2019.