Andy Murray will try to cap a milestone week, while Novak Djokovic will aim for another hardcourt double victory when they square off in the Miami Open final on Sunday night.
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Murray will be gunning for his third Miami Masters title after beating Czech Tomas Berdych 6-4, 6-4 on Friday to secure his final berth.
It marks the fourth trip to the championship match for Murray who earlier this week joined the elite club of players to win 500 career matches.
Djokovic, who defeated Murray in the Australian Open final earlier this year for his eighth Grand Slam crown, beat hard-serving John Isner 7-6 (7/3), 6-2 in the other semi-final.
Djokovic, 27, is trying to become the first player to sweep the Indian Wells and Miami Masters hardcourt titles on three separate occasions. He achieved the US hardcourt double in 2011 and again last year.
Andy Murray is a great hard court player. Novak Djokovic has beaten him nine times in a row on hard courts
— Christopher Clarey (@christophclarey) April 4, 2015
“We have very similar games,” Djokovic said of Murray. “We already played twice this year, and in a big match in Australian Open final which was very, very physical and very close. I expect a battle, long rallies, and I know what is expected of me on the court. I know his game pretty well and he knows mine.”
Djokovic won the first set against Isner in a tiebreaker then got the early break in the second set to go up 2-1.
Djokovic blasted 10 aces and winning 80 per cent of his first serve points. His two service breaks against Isner were the key as the towering American had not been broken coming into the semi-final contest.
“He is the best server we have in the game,” Djokovic said of Isner. “He is 6’10” so he can hit any angle he wants. I managed to get a lot of serves back. That was one of the keys. To get into the rally and make him work extra hard.”
Murray, who also fell to Djokovic in the Indian Wells semi-finals last week, believes he has stepped up his game in Miami and hopes to improve his 8-17 head-to-head record against the Serb.
Asked what he would have to do against Djokovic, Murray said: “Play better than I did last week – that would be a good start.
“I know I need to play high-level tennis. He returns well so I need to get the balance right of being patient but dictating points when I get the opportunity.
“I’ll also be aggressive against the second serve, I’ll be inside the baseline attacking – that’s something I’ve done well this week and didn’t do at Indian Wells. And just hopefully play a cleaner match. But I’ve played well this week, much better than I did at Indian Wells.’’
