World No.1 Novak Djokovic cruised into the fourth round of the Miami ATP Masters and WTA tournament on Sunday with a 6-2 6-4 victory over India’s Somdev Devvarman.
Djokovic remained on course for a third straight title on the hardcourts of Key Biscayne and will battle German veteran Tommy Haas for a place in the quarter-finals.
The 25-year-old Serbian, who won the title in 2007, 2011 and 2012, had little trouble against Devvarman, who has fallen to 254th in the world after a near-seven month absence last season with a shoulder injury.
Djokovic’s 22-match winning streak was halted last week in the Indian Wells semi-finals.
“Considering the wind, it was a nice day,” Djokovic said.
“Conditions not so great – it was very difficult to kind of get into the rhythm because you couldn’t really serve at your 100 per cent and you had to go more for precision and you had to put twice as much effort in the step adjustments.
“All in all, I’m just happy to get through the rough day.”
Third-seeded David Ferrer of Spain continued his dominance of Italian Fabio Fognini with a 6-1 7-5 victory.
Ferrer, winner of two titles already this season, was playing his first match of the tournament after advancing to the third round on a walkover when his scheduled opponent Dmitry Tursunov of Russia withdrew.
The 30-year-old Spaniard will battle for a quarter-final berth against 13th-seeded Japanese player Kei Nishikori, a 6-2 7-5 winner over Belgian Xavier Malisse.
“It’s going to be a very difficult match,” Ferrer said. “The last time I played him at the Australian Open, I beat him in three sets, but I will have to run a lot. We will play a lot of rallies on the baseline. Nishikori has unbelievable shots. He plays with a lot of power.”
Haas, the 15th seed, set up his shot at Djokovic with a 6-3 6-2 win over Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov.
Seventh-seeded Serbian Janko Tipsarevic also advanced, beating Kevin Anderson of South Africa 4-6 7-6 (7-5) 6-0.
Tipsarevic will face France’s 11th seed Gilles Simon, a 6-4 6-4 winner over Slovenia’s Grega Zemlja, for a quarter-final slot.
Women’s third seed Maria Sharapova, seeking a first Miami title after four runner-up finishes, defeated fellow Russian Elena Vesnina 6-4 6-2.
Sharapova was broken early to fall 1-3 down in the opening set, but battled back on a muggy afternoon to book a fourth-round clash with Czech Klara Zakopalova, who ousted Maria Kirilenko 6-2 7-6 (7-4).
In other women’s matches, Romania’s Soran Cirstea upset sixth-seeded German Angelique Kerber 6-4 6-0, and Serbia’s Jelena Jankovic, a former world No.1, ousted 11th-seeded Russian Nadia Petrova 7-6 (9-7) 6-4.
