French wild card Alexandre Sidorenko hit a stunning no-look passing shot during his quarter-final match against Tobias Kamke on Friday at the St. Brieuc Challenger, using the momentum to win the match and reach his first ATP Challenger Tour semi-final in seven years.

Down set point in the opening set, Kamke hit a lob that left Sidorenko scrambling back to the baseline. But the Frenchman responded by hitting a no-look, over-the-shoulder passing shot that left the crowd roaring in approval. The World No. 379 went on to prevail over Kamke, 3-6, 6-3, 6-3.

World No. 1 Novak Djokovic survived his sternest test yet this tournament as he defeated David Goffin 7-6(5), 6-4 on Friday to reach the final at the Miami Open presented by Itau.

The Serb will play for a third successive Miami crown and a record 28th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 trophy when he faces either Kei Nishikori or Nick Kyrgios in Sunday’s final at Crandon Park.

“It was windy, it was humid, it was warm,” Djokovic said. “It was like everything was thrown out there. And to overcome those obstacles and conditions was something that I’m proud of. I managed to stay tough in the right moments.”

The 28-year-old Djokovic is through to his seventh Miami final and is bidding to tie Andre Agassi’s record of six titles. It would be a first three-peat in Miami for the Belgrade native, who won the title in 2007 (d. Canas), 2011 (d. Nadal), 2012 (d. Murray), 2014 (d. Nadal) and 2015 (d. Murray).

Djokovic was made to cover every inch of the court as the relentless Goffin pushed him to the limit in testing conditions in Miami. The Serb was under pressure from the offset, saving three break points in his opening service games.

“He plays very clean,” Djokovic said of Goffin. “It’s a tennis that is beautiful to watch. Also, I think he improved his serve. I had difficulty reading it. It’s not as powerful as maybe some other guys’, but it’s very precise and efficient. Also, he backs it up with a very efficient first shot after the serve.

“Physically, it was a great battle, with lots of exchanges from the baseline.”

Having saved two break points in the sixth game, Goffin broke Djokovic in the following game for a 4-3 lead. However, as he has been wont to do in the past 12 months, Djokovic immediately broke back. In 2015, Infosys ATP Beyond The Numbers showed that Djokovic was the lead performer on the ATP World Tour as he won a commanding 38 per cent of his return games immediately after getting broken.

More On Infosys ATP Scores & Stats

Djokovic ultimately clinched the opener in the tie-break, but Goffin was not deterred. With Djokovic feeling the heat, Goffin continued to press and was thwarted on a break point chance in the fourth game. But crucial unforced errors in the seventh game proved to Goffin’s undoing. Djokovic took his chance to break and went on to close out victory in two hours and five minutes. Goffin was left ruing a conversion rate of seven from 17 points at the net, including pivotal misses in the tie-break. 

The 25-year-old Goffin has been in a rich vein of form, backing up his run to his first Masters 1000 semi-final in Indian Wells, where he beat Stan Wawrinka and Marin Cilic before falling to Milos Raonic. He dropped to a 2-26 record against Top 10 opponents.

“Against Djokovic, you have to make every point,” Goffin said. “You have to go for the shot on every point. He doesn’t give you anything, so you have to win it. It’s tough, because if you are not there for a few seconds, you lose the game.

“I’ve worked a lot in practice, so maybe that’s why it’s paying off during the match. But for the next tournament and for the rest of this season, of course my confidence will be really high.”

The Belgian is projected to reach a career-high World No. 13 in the Emirates ATP Rankings on Monday, having started March at No. 18.

The semi-finals on Friday are headlined by World No. 1 and five-time Miami Open champion Novak Djokovic along with three players trying to capture their first career ATP Masters 1000 title: No. 6 Kei Nishikori, No. 15 David Goffin and No. 24 seed Nick Kyrgios. This is the first time since 2007 there are two double digit seeds in the Miami semi-finals.

In the first semi-final, Djokovic brings a 3-0 career head-to-head record against Goffin, who is the first Belgian man to reach the semi-finals in the tournament’s 32-year history. He’s appearing in his second straight ATP Masters 1000 semi-final (l. to Raonic in Indian Wells). The 25-year-old Belgian has only been broken twice in 39 service games while breaking opponents 15 times en route to SF.

Djokovic has won 14 straight matches in Miami (28 of the last 29 back to 2011) since a 4R loss to Tommy Haas in 2013. He comes in with a 26-1 match record on the season. Djokovic, who is trying to reach his seventh Miami final (5-1), is chasing Andre Agassi’s tournament record six titles. Agassi is also the last player to win three straight titles from 2001-03. Djokovic, co-leader (w/Nadal) with 27 career ATP Masters 1000 titles, has reached the final in his last 10 ATP Masters 1000 tournaments (DNP ’15 Madrid) going back to 2014 Paris-Bercy. During that stretch, he has compiled a 54-2 record.

In the evening match, Nishikori and Next Generation star Kyrgios meet for the second time. Nishikori won the previous meeting 16 64 64 in the 2R at ATP Masters 1000 Shanghai last October. Nishikori, who saved five match points in his QF win over Gael Monfils on Thursday, is appearing in the Miami SF for the second time in three years. He is trying to reach his second career ATP Masters 1000 final (’14 Madrid). Kyrgios, who has not dropped a set en route to his maiden ATP Masters 1000 SF, is the first Australian to reach the Miami SF since Lleyton Hewitt in 2002 (l. to Federer). He’s trying to become the first Aussie to reach the final in tournament history. The 20-year-old will crack the Top 20 in the Emirates ATP Rankings next Monday. He will become the youngest in the Top 20 since 20-year-old Marin Cilic on Sept. 21, 2009.

DOUBLE-DIGIT SEEDS IN SEMI-FINALS – There are two double digit seeds in the semi-finals for the first time since 2007 when No. 10 Djokovic defeated No. 12 Murray. Djokovic went on to win the title and he’s the last double digit seed champion in Miami. It’s the seventh straight year at least one double digit seed has advanced to the semi-finals here: