Los Angeles: World No. 1 Novak Djokovic rolled into the semifinals of the Miami Open with a 6-3, 6-3 romp over Tomas Berdych on Wednesday as he continued his pursuit of a fifth title in six years on Key Biscayne.
Djokovic did not face the difficulty that he had in his fourth round match, when he was forced to fend off 14 of 15 break points, while he also attacked Berdych's second serve to advance to a clash with Belgium's David Goffin after 99 minutes.
Goffin beat France's Gilles Simon 3-6, 6-2, 6-1.
Berdych was coming off a marathon win against Richard Gasquet on Tuesday and did not have enough left to challenge Djokovic. He won just six of his 23 second service points and was broken four times.
Djokovic improved to 26-1 this year. His only defeat came in February when he was forced to retire against Spain's Feliciano Lopez in Dubai due to an eye infection.
He has yet to drop a set in Miami, despite his issues with Austria's Dominic Thiem in the fourth round.
In the women's section, Victoria Azarenka withstood some early pressure from Britain's Johanna Konta to continue her quest for a third Miami Open title with a 6-4, 6-2 quarterfinal victory.
Azarenka, who 10 days ago beat Serena Williams to win the Indian Wells title in California, was too consistent for the 24th-seeded Konta in the end to keep alive her bid to capture the second half of the Sunshine Double.
She will now face second seed Angelique Kerber, who beat American Madison Keys 6-3, 6-2.
Konta, playing her first quarterfinal of a WTA Premier event after making her first Grand Slam semifinal at the Australian Open in January, more than held her own in a first set played in blustery conditions.
Azarenka, however, rose to the occasion to fend off five break points, while Konta double-faulted twice to drop serve as the Belarusian took charge in just over 90 minutes.
“She's such a great player,” eighth-ranked Azarenka, the 2009 and 2011 champion, told ESPN. “I see a lot of potential.
“I couldn't actually get a read on her serve in the beginning - it was tough for me to adjust - but then I got a bit lower and tried to get more returns in, be a bit more aggressive."
The British No. 1, who was ranked 151st in the world this time last year, took some satisfaction from the match.
"I'm happy with the level I was able to bring to the court," Konta, now ranked 23rd, told the BBC. "Obviously I'm disappointed that I could have done a little bit better, but I'm taking the positives from it.”
Kerber, who won the Australian Open, lost the opening match of her two previous tournaments, but was helped by 39 unforced errors by Keys, the last American remaining in either draw, who was not able to put much pressure on her German opponent.
The 28-year-old left-hander upset Azarenka in the quarterfinal at Melbourne Park, then beat Konta in the last four and Serena in the final to claim her first Grand Slam title.
(With inputs from Agencies)