Novak Djokovic defeats Mardy Fish in the semi-final of Sony Ericsson Open 2011, sets up a Rafael Nadal final
Novak Djokovic of Serbia, who recently became the world number two, carried on his sublime form in the current year as he reached the final of Sony Ericsson Open at Miami, Florida by defeating the 14th seed American, Mardy Fish on Friday night. The Serb did not face enough resistance and dispensed his bleak opponent in straight sets 6-3, 6-1, in just 1 hour and 26 minutes of play in the semi-final of the ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour event.
The Serb registered his 19th straight victory of the running ATP season and remains unbeaten. Djokovic has already defeated Fish four times prior to his Miami clash, making it five in a row for him. The American failed to pose any resistance to the fiery Serb and appeared a total mismatch to the class of Djokovic.
“I don’t feel invincible. I don’t feel that I can’t lose on the court but what I feel is big confidence,” Djokovic said in his post match reviews, “What I feel is that I'm playing best tennis of my life. It is as simple as that.”
Fish had earned the number one ranking in America by reaching the semi-final of Sony Ericsson Open but was crushed by the fury of Djokovic, who knocked him out with relative ease. The American showed some signs of competitiveness in the opener but proved to be a wall of sand for Djokovic in the second set.
Djokovic was quick to start off the game and a serve break propelled him to a 5-3 lead in the opener. Fish had two chances to break the opponent’s serve in the ninth game but squandered both of them by hitting an easy net volley wide on first occasion and then thumping a forehand stroke into the net on the second. The American never recovered from the missed opportunities and sagged further in the set by conceding costly unforced errors.
The first set eventually fell in Djokovic’s bag at 6-3, giving him the upper hand in the contest. The following set brought no luck for Fish, as the American dropped his first serve drastically to mere 41 per cent accuracy and collecting just 16 out of 44 total points in the set. The Serb dominated the second set with his power game, executing some elegant cross-court winners to register three serve breaks, and rocketed away to victory at 6-1.
Djokovic will have a day’s rest before he steps on court against the world number one, Rafael Nadal of Spain in the final of Sony Ericsson Open on Sunday night. Nadal stood victorious against the Swiss maestro, Roger Federer, in the semi-final, defeating him in straight sets, 6-2, 6-3. A mouth-watering treat is anticipated when the top two players in the world battle it out for glory in Miami.
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