Miami Open features Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and more
Tuesday’s lineup at the Miami Open is promising to be a headliner with both Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal playing matches right after each other.
The loaded Masters 1000 fourth-round matches will begin with number two seed Kei Nishikori facing unseeded Federico Delbonis, starting at 11:00 a.m. Following this will be a powerhouse of matches including Rafael Nadal around 1:00 p.m., facing No. 55 Nicolas Mahut.
Tennis fans will get a day full of exciting matchups, including Nadal’s great rival Roger Federer directly afterwards, against 14th seed Roberto Bautista Agut. The former world number one has never lost a set to Agut and is likely to make it to the next round, considering that he is playing some of his best tennis at the fine age of 35.
All matches will be broadcast on ESPN3 Tuesday.
Two of the few twenty-somethings faring well in the draw, Australian hotshot Nick Kyrgios will battle eight seed David Goffin in the evening stadium match. Three Americans left in the draw, including a highly ranked Jack Sock, and unseeded Donald Young and Jared Donaldson all have matches in the Grandstand as well, starting at 10:50 a.m.
No. 3 Stan Wawrinka will close out the grandstand matches with a faceoff against the teenager Zverev. For the first time, the Swiss number one is the top seed left in the draw. Tuesday is also his 32nd birthday and likely the best present he can receive is a win over the German.
Also in the mix is Tomas Berdych, who is likely to face Federer in the quarters if they both get through Tuesday’s contests. The Swiss player beat the tenth seed in their third round Australian Open faceoff this year, which the 18-time champion went on to win in a thriller final against Rafa.
If the great rivals meet again, it will be in the final in Miami, much to spectators’ relief, unlike the Indian Wells where they faced each early in the top heavy fourth round, another clash where Federer bested the 14-time slam winner. With the wins over Rafa in Australia and CA, Federer equaled his hard court record against the 30-year-old (9-9). If Fed’s streak continues in south Florida, he will tip the scales in hard court wins over his great rival.
On Monday, the GOAT beat fan favorite Juan Martin del Potro, in a stadium contest that had the feeling of a great soccer match, 6-3, 6-4. There are just a few guys who have grand slams in the era of the Big Four, and the Argentine is one of them, beating the Swiss Maestro in the 2009 US Open.
Although the fourth seed clocked the win in just 82 minutes, the crowd piled into the tennis center to cheer on a favorite, this time del Potro, who is not only beloved in Miami, but throughout all of tennis for his incredible comeback after a series of wrist injuries and endearing personality. Federer is not used to having the crowd against him, but he enjoyed the atmosphere nonetheless.
"“Shortly before I walked out to the court, you could sense the atmosphere,” Federer said post-match, according to The Miami Herald. “I think if the match would have gone three sets or tiebreakers or something even closer, it would have been really epic. Great atmosphere. Nice weather. Great opponent. Great crowd. What else do you need?’’"
Another exciting match from Monday was Alexander Zverev’s win over John Isner, which was as close as you could get, a thriller decided in three tiebreaks. Most impressive was the 19 year-old taking back the third set tie break after a 4-1 deficit. The world No. 20 saved three set points to achieve the hard-fought win.
On the women’s side, matchups Tuesday include second seed Karolina Pliskova meeting up with Croatia’s Mirjana Lucic-Baroni. The second women’s quarterfinal match will feature 12th-seed Caroline Wozniacki against No. 36 Lucie Safarova sometime after 7:30 p.m.