The 35-year-old continued his excellent start to 2017 at the weekend as he landed the Miami Open title with a 6-3 6-4 victory over great rival Rafael Nadal. The previous two meetings between the two this year were won by Federer and he will look to make it a hat-trick of wins whereas Nadal will like to stop the streak.
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In addition, he has also proven able to get the better of Nadal – the man he defeated in an epic Australian Open final in January – on a consistent basis, having trailed 23-10 in their head-to-head prior to his recent streak of victories.
Nadal took a quick break after the first set to change his white shorts, which were very thin, soaked with sweat, and clearly bothering him. Federer took his sixth break opportunity and then drove home a comfortable hold to take the first set 6-3.
When they first met on Key Biscayne, in the third round of the 2004 tournament, Nadal was a long-haired, little-known 17-year-old with big biceps.
“It felt very good”, said Federer.
“That is what it is going to look like, I need rest, my body needs healing, I need time as well to prepare, you will probably see me at the French again”, Sport24 quoted Federer as saying.
Nadal, who has never who won the Miami title, will face the victor of Friday’s second semi-final between twice champion Federer, the fourth seed, and the 12th-seeded Australian Nick Kyrgios.
It helped him to move to an 11-match winning streak and improved his match record to 19 wins and just one defeat in 2017.
Said Nadal: “I’m just excited to play against Roger always”. “That’s why taking a break and resting during the clay season and focusing on Roland Garros [the French Open], the grass and the hard courts after that is best”. However, he made amends for his early exit by winning the Indian Wells title, beating Nadal enroute to the final, in which he outclassed compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka. “Hopefully I will not have to wait three more years to be in that position fighting again for a title. I will see you next year”.
Federer was awesome against Nadal. “I tried to really fight for it”, he said. I already played three finals this year, losing three times with a player that didn’t lose a match – only one match that he never would lose in normal conditions in Dubai and that’s it.
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He produced an outrageous backhand down the line, one of many, in the final game and he served out to win the match.
