Novak Djokovic suggests the two players who he thinks have the ‘best drop shots’ on the ATP Tour

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Novak Djokovic continues to impress at the Miami Open as he searches for a 100th career title.

The Serbian star struggled at Indian Wells earlier this month, losing to Botic van de Zandschulp as he suffered his third consecutive defeat on the ATP Tour.

Bouncing back in the Sunshine State, Djokovic scored a convincing win over Rinky Hijikata, 6-0, 7-6, to advance to the third round.

There, Djokovic beat Camilo Ugo Carabelli, downing the entertaining Argentine in straight sets, 6-1, 7-6.

Booking his place in the Miami Open quarter-finals, Djokovic secured a big win over a player with ‘one of the best drop shots’ on the ATP Tour.

Novak Djokovic says Lorenzo Musetti and Carlos Alcaraz have some of ‘the best drop shots’ in tennis

In the fourth round, Djokovic knocked out Lorenzo Musetti, dropping just four games against the 23-year-old Italian.

After the match, Djokovic was asked about his use of the drop shot against Musetti as he named the two players he thinks use the shot particularly well.

“I tried to innovate in my game and have that in my skill set arsenal, so to say,” he said.

“I try to dictate the balls from the middle of the court with my forehand and take away time from my opponents generally, particularly against [Lorenzo] Musetti tonight.

“Sometimes when, like Musetti, your opponent is standing back very far defending, he has to cover a lot of court to get to that drop shot so if you are in a good position and can hide it and play a good drop shot it can work well.

“He actually does it really good; he has one of the best forehand drop shots out there, with [Carlos] Alcaraz, obviously.

“It is a good shot to have, particularly when your opponents are on the back foot and don’t know where the next shot is going to go, so if you can surprise them with some variety and not always go through the court, it keeps them on the backfoot.”

Over the last 52 weeks, Djokovic has been outperformed by both Alcaraz and Musetti in the dropshot category.

Novak Djokovic prepares for tough test against home favorite Sebastian Korda in Miami

Djokovic will hope to put the drop shot to good use when he takes on Florida’s own Sebastian Korda in the Miami Open quarter-finals.

The 24-year-old battled past Gael Monfils in a match hampered by several rain delays as he qualified for his fourth career Masters 1000 quarter-final.

Djokovic and Korda have faced off once before on the ATP Tour, as the Serb won a tight three set clash in the 2023 Adelaide 1 final.

The American took the first set before Djokovic fought back to win in three, clinching the 91st title of his legendary career.

The 37-year-old lost his one previous quarter-final clash with an American in 2025, as Reilly Opelka shocked Djokovic in Brisbane two months ago.

He’ll certainly be hoping for a better result this time around when he takes on Korda for a place in the Miami Open semi-finals.

Lorenzo Musetti could return to career-high ranking ahead of the clay court season

Musetti would no doubt have hoped to win more than four games against Djokovic but there are still positives to take from an encouraging week in Florida.

His run to the fourth round could see him return to his career-high ranking of 15th depending on the performances of those ranked below him.

Musetti will now travel to Europe to play tournaments on his favored clay and grass courts, where he may well be a contender at the French Open and Wimbledon.

He’ll first head to the principality for the Monte-Carlo Masters tournament on April 7, an event where he reached the quarter-finals two years ago.