Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal on collision course to face to each other in Miami
Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal won their fourth round matches at the Miami Open on Tuesday, and remain on course to face each other in the final.
Rafael Nadal played his match first and ripped through with aggressive play against Frenchman Nicholas Mahut, beating him 6-4, 7-6 (4). He’s set to meet American Jack Sock, fresh off his two-set win over compatriot Jared Donaldson, a qualifier at the tournament. Sock is seeded 13th and is at a career high ranking of 17. The Nebraska native is also off to a great start this year, having won two titles already, at Aukland in January and in Delray a month afterwards, both hard court tourneys, like Miami. Nadal and Sock face each other Wednesday night in the marquee evening match in the Crandon Park stadium.
The Spaniard’s famous rival, Roger Federer, has been playing amazing tennis since he came back from his knee surgery and recovery, starting with his inspiring 18th grand slam title in Australia. He won the last Masters 1000 tournament at Indian Wells, beating Nadal on the way in the fourth round. All the players have remarked on how fast the Swiss player has been in Miami and that he is perhaps playing better than ever. Fed won on Tuesday as well, but with less assurance than his rival. The fourth seed’s serve was a bit shaky and he made several surprising errors. He squeaked by in the first set by winning the tiebreak by a hair’s breath, but seemed to recover some of his luster in the second, closing out the win over Bautista Agut with a more confident tie break performance, prevailing 7-6(5), 7-6(4). Federer plays Tomas Berdych on Thursday’s men’s quarterfinals contest.
With great rivals Federer and Nadal advancing to the next round, there’s talk about them potentially facing each other in another prospective final. Thankfully, their seeds and the luck of the draw put them in opposite ends so there’s no chance of the two of them battling early, like they did in CA a few weeks ago, where Federer won.
“It’s been a good start for both of us,” Nadal said after his match in Miami. “It’s positive that we can stay around and be very competitive every week.”
Federer also talked about his chances after his fourth round win. “The game has evolved, I had to adjust, but overall I do believe I’m probably a better player than I was 10 years ago.”
Perhaps, but neither player has had done as well as you would think in Miami. With all his Masters 1000 titles, including 25 of them, he has only won the Key Biscayne tourney twice, famously beating Nadal for his first title after a two-set deficit in 2005. Even more surprisingly, Rafa has never won the title here, even though he beat his rival early on, in 2004, their first matchup, a match that supposedly shook the Swiss man and was an indicator of more losses in their future head-to-head. The Spaniard may have more Masters 1000 titles (28), but the Miami tournament has really always belonged to Novak Djokovic, who has collected six Miami trophies during his dominant period. With the Serb out with an elbow injury and #Fedal (the hashtag for the two legends) playing Renaissance tennis, it’s probably as good a time as any for the two to have a chance at another Masters title here. Nadal was a runner up to Djokovic twice and once to Fed; perhaps it’s his turn to clinch the title?
The first match of the day played on Tuesday turned out to be a big scare for last year’s runner-up, second seed Kei Nishikori. Looking unconfident at times, it took the Japanese player three sets to get the victory, defeating unseeded Federico Delbonis 6-3, 4-6, 6-3.
The most exciting match of the day wasn’t even played on stadium court, but over at the grandstand, with top seed Stan Wawrinka trying to get a 32nd birthday present in the form of a victory over the teenage sensation, Alexander Zverev, but it turned out not to be. With the gangly, tall German chewing on his old chain between points, he had all the confidence in the world as he hit beautiful shots to claim victory against the other Swiss great, Stan the Man looked anything but as he wilted in the third set, losing to the younger player 4-6, 6-2, 6-1.
”I played well in the second and third,” Zverev said afterwards. ”I turned it around a little bit. I had to be aggressive.”
Although the German turns 20 next month, he’s currently the only player under that age in the top 30, something that would have been completely foreign decades ago. But in the age of Federer, Nadal, Wawrinka, Murray and Djokovic, it seems that anyone under 30 is not invited into their exclusive club of slams.
”I had no more gas in the second and third sets,” explained Wawrinka post-match. ”But at the end of the day, you have to try with what you have that day, and today was not enough.”
The now-32 year-old did find something to smile about as a birthday cake was brought to him at his presser after the match, with the words ‘Stan the Man’ emblazoned on top. Still, just a few weeks ago the three-time slam champion was in the finals at Indian Wells, eventually losing to his compatriot Federer. At age 35 and 32, the Swiss champs are the ones to beat on tour.
Speaking of age, the only other under-24 club member is Australian Nick Kyrgios. Well, it’s less a club and more like just a duo of Zverev and Kyrgios. Perhaps they could get their own hashtag as well, like #Fedal? #Zvergios? Doesn’t quite have the same ring, does it?
The Australian with a big personality won his match on stadium court in the last night session, in a drama-free fashion, beating eight seed David Goffin 7-6(5), 6-3. The 12th seed’s performance was a bit uneven, but gained conviction in the second set.
“I thought my level in the first set was pretty ordinary from the back (of the court),’’ explain Kyrgios afterwards. “My serve got me through the first set. My backhand was at times pretty awful and at times it was pretty clutch.’’
Next up is a rematch of what was dubbed the “battle of the next generation” between the 21-year-old and Zverev from Indian Wells, where the elder player beat the 19 year-old. They also play on Thursday.
Next: Federer's fairytale year continues
“I’m looking forward to it and I’m looking forward to my day off tomorrow,’’ Kyrgios said post-match. But he also knows that Thursday brings a big headliner in the quarters. Speaking of Zverev, Kyrgios said, “He’s younger than I am, and everyone knows what he’s capable of. He’s a great player.’’
The match between these two will be exciting and fun, I’m sure.
Still, it’s best not to count the “old guys” out, there’s a good chance that Nadal will collect his first Miami trophy. Or that the quiet warrior Federwill continue his year of leaving everyone else in the dust.