Novak Djokovic vs. John Isner: Score and Recap from Miami Open 2015

The world's best athletes step up their games when championships are within sight. That is exactly what No. 1 Novak Djokovic did Friday in his straight-sets victory over John Isner in the Miami Open semifinals.

Djokovic handled the challenger to the tune of 7-6(3), 6-2 and got stronger as the match progressed.

He finished with nine aces and won 80 percent of his first-service points and 72 percent of his second-service points, but it was his ability to break Isner's typically overpowering serve multiple times in the second set that proved to be the ultimate difference.

In fact, Djokovic won an incredible 70 percent of Isner's second-service points and was able to take advantage of those opportunities as they presented themselves.

It was an overwhelming display of dominance from the top player on the ATP Tour. Christy Chirinos of the Sun Sentinel noted just how efficient the performance was:

However, things did not go that easily for the world's No. 1 player in the first set, as Isner forced a tiebreaker with his formidable serve.

In fact, the entire set stayed on serve up to the tiebreaker, which was a testament to Isner's ability to stay in matches with his powerful approach.

The Miami Open acknowledged that Isner was doing a nice job of overcoming some early mistakes:

Things took a turn for the worse for Isner in the actual tiebreaker, though, as Djokovic displayed his athleticism and took advantage of some of Isner's mistakes. The Miami Open and Sports Illustrated Tennis commented on the result:

Djokovic certainly expected a challenge like the one he received in the tiebreaker Friday coming into the match, considering that Isner knocked off No. 4-seeded Kei Nishikori and No. 6-seeded Milos Raonic to get to the semifinal, per ATPWorldTour.com:

"

Coming into tomorrow's match, I think he's more confident because he's won against Top 10 players back-to-back. I'm sure that's going to give him more of an advantage mentally. He's going to try to be aggressive. He's going to try to take his chances... That's what makes him very dangerous.

"

Djokovic carried over his momentum from the tiebreaker into the decisive second set and seized an early 4-1 lead with the first two breaks of the match.

Incredibly, it was the first time throughout the entire Miami Open that Isner had his serve broken. Christopher Clarey of The New York Times noted that Djokovic is no stranger to picking up impressive breaks that other players simply cannot:

The two breaks were more than enough for the world's top-rated player, and he cruised to a 6-2 victory in the second set and into the Miami Open final.

Djokovic is a four-time Miami Open champion and is now a single victory away from winning his fifth.

What's Next?

Mark J. Terrill/Associated Press

Next up for Djokovic is a showdown with another superstar in the game, Andy Murray.

Djokovic is fresh off a championship at Indian Wells, has four career titles in Miami and is playing some of the best tennis of his career, so Murray will certainly have his hands full.

Djokovic and Murray actually squared off in the Australian Open championship match earlier this year, and Djokovic won in four sets. Murray challenged him early, but Djokovic won 12 of the final 15 games in those last two sets to come away with the decisive victory.

Between the recent Australian Open victory and the fact that Djokovic has beaten Murray six times in a row and in nine of their last 10 meetings, the world's top-rated player could have a mental edge in the final. It will be up to Murray to overcome both that and Djokovic's 2015 momentum.