Novak Djokovic gave away a second-set point in a sporting gesture to Tommy Robredo during a 6-3 7-5 victory on Tuesday that put him in the Miami Masters quarter-finals.

The Serb second seed surrendered a point to his 16th-seeded Spanish rival in the third game of the second set after a linesman mistakenly called a Robredo return out.

Instead of re-playing, Djokovic donated the point, giving his opponent an ad.

Though Djokovic won the game, the gesture drew applause from fans who had to wait half an hour for the start of play after morning rain.

The event looked to be getting lucky, with faint sun and play continuing after forecasts of a day of deluges.

Djokovic moved into a match-up against the winner from a later match between sixth-seeded British defending champion Andy Murray and Frenchman Jo-Wilfried Tsonga.

“In the important moments I played the right shot,” said Djokovic. “It was swirly out there and the rain had made conditions heavy and humid.

“I’m glad I got through in straight sets.”

Djokovic, who has won six matches in a row against Robredo, is playing the event for the ninth time. He has a 28-5 record and also leads the way among active players for titles won in Miami, winning in 2007, 2011 and 2012.

The Serb finished off his win in 82 minutes with a forehand winner to the corner on the first of three match points.

In another fourth-round matchup, Japan’s Kei Nishikori outlasted Spanish fourth seed David Ferrer 7-6 (9-7) 2-6 7-6 (11-9) after three hours and five minutes.