It is a first semi-final appearance for Djokovic at this tournament since 2016 and, with Carlos Alcaraz, Jack Draper and Daniil Medvedev among a host of top-10 seeds already out, the draw has opened up for the Serb to add another Miami title.
Djokovic efficiently took the opening set on Thursday, breaking his opponent’s serve in the eighth game.
But the 24-time Grand Slam champion had to dig deep in the second, with some impressive serving allowing him to recover from 5-2 down to force a tie-break and clinch the win.
“Best serving performance for me so far,” Djokovic said. “I was quite nervous because you never know what comes from Korda – he’s so aggressive and talented.
“I was on my back foot, waiting for his error rather than dictating from the back of the court. When I needed a first serve I got it but a tense match and great performance.”
Earlier on Thursday, unseeded Czech Jakub Mensik beat 17th seed Arthur Fils 7-6 (7-5) 6-1 to book a semi-final against either Italian 29th seed Matteo Berrettini or American Taylor Fritz.
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