<p>Novak Djokovic won 12 of the last 14 games of his match against Lorenzo Musetti to crush the Italian 6-2 6-2 and move into the quarter-finals of the Miami Open in his best performance since the Australian Open.</p><p>The momentum in the rain-delayed match seemed to swing in Djokovic's favour when he complained to the chair umpire in the opening set over a serve clock warning.</p><p>That frustration seemed to spark the Serbian, who broke the next game for a 4-2 lead and never looked back in the presence of an adoring crowd that included tennis greats Serena Williams and Juan Martin del Potro.</p><p>"I was star-struck. It was amazing to see first DelPo, obviously a long-time friend and a rival, so happy to have him around and get his support from the box," Djokovic said.</p>.Coco Gauff falls on tough day for Americans in Miami Open.<p>"It was amazing, it was (the) first time to have DelPo in the box, so I want to thank him really for coming. And Serena, that was a surprise."</p><p>Six-times Miami champion Djokovic crushed an exquisite backhand winner for a 5-2 second-set lead and sealed the win when Musetti double-faulted on match point.</p><p>"Actually, when I had that down-the-line passing shot, I pointed to her and asked her whether it was okay," he added.</p><p>"She said, 'yeah, it was fine'. If Serena says it was fine, then it was amazing by everyone else's standards."</p><p>Next up for fourth-seeded Djokovic is American Sebastian Korda, who prevailed 6-4 2-6 6-4 over veteran Frenchman Gael Monfils earlier in the day.</p><p>Korda lost a thrilling three-setter to 24-times Grand Slam champion Djokovic in their only previous meeting in the Adelaide final in 2023.</p><p>Argentine Francisco Cerundolo upset three-times major finalist Casper Ruud 6-4 6-2 to reach the quarter-final of the tournament for the third time in four years.</p><p>Cerundolo never faced a break as he pummeled the fifth-seeded Norwegian with six aces and 21 winners, setting up a meeting with 14th seed Grigor Dimitrov, who defeated home hope Brandon Nakashima 6-4 7-5.</p><p>On the women's side, Italian sixth-seed Jasmine Paolini saved seven of the eight break points she faced to defeat Magda Linette and reach the semi-finals.</p><p>Paolini will next face world number one and first-time Miami semi-finalist Aryna Sabalenka, who beat China's Zheng Qinwen 6-2 7-5 in a rematch of their 2024 Australian Open final.</p><p>"Always tough battles against her," Sabalenka said after extending her head-to-head record against Zheng to 6-0.</p><p>"Today I had to work really hard, especially in that second set. I'm really proud of the way I handled my emotions.</p><p>"Even when something didn't work well, I was there and I was fighting for every point."</p>
<p>Novak Djokovic won 12 of the last 14 games of his match against Lorenzo Musetti to crush the Italian 6-2 6-2 and move into the quarter-finals of the Miami Open in his best performance since the Australian Open.</p><p>The momentum in the rain-delayed match seemed to swing in Djokovic's favour when he complained to the chair umpire in the opening set over a serve clock warning.</p><p>That frustration seemed to spark the Serbian, who broke the next game for a 4-2 lead and never looked back in the presence of an adoring crowd that included tennis greats Serena Williams and Juan Martin del Potro.</p><p>"I was star-struck. It was amazing to see first DelPo, obviously a long-time friend and a rival, so happy to have him around and get his support from the box," Djokovic said.</p>.Coco Gauff falls on tough day for Americans in Miami Open.<p>"It was amazing, it was (the) first time to have DelPo in the box, so I want to thank him really for coming. And Serena, that was a surprise."</p><p>Six-times Miami champion Djokovic crushed an exquisite backhand winner for a 5-2 second-set lead and sealed the win when Musetti double-faulted on match point.</p><p>"Actually, when I had that down-the-line passing shot, I pointed to her and asked her whether it was okay," he added.</p><p>"She said, 'yeah, it was fine'. If Serena says it was fine, then it was amazing by everyone else's standards."</p><p>Next up for fourth-seeded Djokovic is American Sebastian Korda, who prevailed 6-4 2-6 6-4 over veteran Frenchman Gael Monfils earlier in the day.</p><p>Korda lost a thrilling three-setter to 24-times Grand Slam champion Djokovic in their only previous meeting in the Adelaide final in 2023.</p><p>Argentine Francisco Cerundolo upset three-times major finalist Casper Ruud 6-4 6-2 to reach the quarter-final of the tournament for the third time in four years.</p><p>Cerundolo never faced a break as he pummeled the fifth-seeded Norwegian with six aces and 21 winners, setting up a meeting with 14th seed Grigor Dimitrov, who defeated home hope Brandon Nakashima 6-4 7-5.</p><p>On the women's side, Italian sixth-seed Jasmine Paolini saved seven of the eight break points she faced to defeat Magda Linette and reach the semi-finals.</p><p>Paolini will next face world number one and first-time Miami semi-finalist Aryna Sabalenka, who beat China's Zheng Qinwen 6-2 7-5 in a rematch of their 2024 Australian Open final.</p><p>"Always tough battles against her," Sabalenka said after extending her head-to-head record against Zheng to 6-0.</p><p>"Today I had to work really hard, especially in that second set. I'm really proud of the way I handled my emotions.</p><p>"Even when something didn't work well, I was there and I was fighting for every point."</p>