Novak Djokovic has continued his bid for a historic 100th ATP title, after reaching the Miami Open quarter-finals with Serena Williams in attendance.
Djokovic is a 24-time major winner, but has struggled for form ever since his retirement from the Australian Open semi-finals against Alexander Zverev due to a leg injury.
However, on his return to the Miami Open after a six year hiatus, Djokovic appears to have re-found form.
It has been a busy few weeks for the Serbian, with Djokovic also speaking about the PTPA claim against the ATP.
Although, the attention was not just on Djokovic in his latest match at the Miami Open, as the crowd was filled with stars, something that he has now admitted took him time to adjust to.
Novak Djokovic says how he felt seeing Serena Williams in the crowd
Djokovic beat 15th seed Lorenzo Musetti, 6-2 6-2, to reach his eighth Miami Open quarter-final and first since he won the title in 2016.
His match was on-looked by many former top tennis players, including record eight-time Miami Open singles champion Serena Williams.
Williams was not the only big name in the crowd, with Juan Martin del Potro and Djokovic’s coach Andy Murray also watching.
When speaking to the media in the Miami Open mixed zone after the match, Djokovic admitted that he was a bit nervous seeing Williams in particular.
“Overall great performance,” said Djokovic. “Great to have Serena courtside obviously, Del Potro in my box and Andy as my coach, I was a bit starstruck to be honest.
“When I saw Serena particularly I was like ‘I’m very happy, but I’m also nervous, I’ve got to come up with my best performance’.”
Not only was Williams watching from the sidelines, but she was also giving feedback to the world number five.
Novak Djokovic reveals what Serena Williams told him on court
Williams has been retired since 2022, having finished her career with a record 23 Grand Slam singles titles.
Despite this, Williams still comes to watch live tennis from time to time, and actually gave Djokovic some feedback for one of the 18 winners he hit against Musetti.
When speaking to Tennis TV on court after the match, Djokovic revealed that the former world number one told him that his backhand down-the-line was ‘fine’.
“Actually, when I had that down-the-line passing shot, I pointed to her and asked her whether it was okay. She kind of said, ‘Yeah, it was fine’,” he said. “If Serena says it was fine, then it was amazing by everyone else’s standards. So yeah, great to have them.”
Djokovic will play his eighth Miami Open quarter-final against American Sebastian Korda on Wednesday March 26.
Only once has Djokovic reached the last-eight at the Miami tournament and not won the title, losing the 2009 final to his now coach Murray.
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