Raonic Explains Withdrawal From Miami 2017
Raonic Explains Withdrawal From Miami 2017
Mar262017
Rafael Nadal becomes the 11th player in the Open Era to play 1000 ATP World Tour singles matches on Sunday when he faces …
Angelique Kerber will be finally looking to kickstart her year with a deep run in Miami. Back at the No.1 spot, she faces …
Britain’s Johanna Konta rediscovered her best form as she thrashed Pauline Parmentier of France in straight sets to reach round four at the Miami Open.
Konta, seeded 10th, took charge from midway through the first set to win 6-4 6-0 in 63 minutes.
She next faces American eighth seed Madison Keys or Lara Arruabarrena of Spain for a place in the last eight.
In the men’s doubles, Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares beat Paolo Lorenzi and Joao Sousa 6-0 6-3 in round two.
Angelique Kerber, Venus Williams and Rafael Nadal are among those in action later on Sunday.
Men’s third seed Milos Raonic of Canada withdrew ahead of his match against Jared Donaldson with a recurrence of a hamstring injury, saying: “It was not possible to compete today without putting myself at significant risk.”
Konta, 25, had struggled for form since reaching the Australian Open quarter-finals in January, and had needed two hours and 40 minutes to beat qualifier Aliaksandra Sasnovich in her opening match in Miami.
In less windy conditions on Sunday, the British number one found the rhythm on both serve and return that has seen her rise dramatically up the rankings in the last two years.
The first six games went with serve as Parmentier’s big serve kept her in touch, but when Konta converted her third break point for a 4-3 lead it sparked a brilliant burst of form from the Briton.
Konta dropped just five points in the second set, and only seven points on serve in the entire match, as she powered through.
She is now one win from at least matching last year’s run to the quarter-finals, where she lost to Victoria Azarenka.
The Spaniard currently holds an 821-178 ATP World Tour level singles record
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Nishikori vs Verdasco | Raonic vs Donaldson | Nadal vs Kohlschreiber
DAY 5 PREVIEW: Third round action on Sunday at the Miami Open presented by Itau features No. 2 seed and last year’s finalist Kei Nishikori, No. 3 Milos Raonic, No. 5 and four-time finalist Rafael Nadal and No. 13 Jack Sock. They are the highest seeds of the six remaining in the bottom half of the draw. On Friday, seeds struggled in opening round matches with a 6-10 record. On Saturday, seeds in the top half of the draw compiled a 12-4 record. There are 15 countries represented in the third round with the U.S. leading the way with five players (most since 2011) followed by Argentina and France with four each and Germany and Spain with three each.
In the opening men’s match on Stadium, Nishikori squares off with No. 25 seed Fernando Verdasco for the fifth time (tied 2-2). Nishikori won the last meeting in five sets in the 3R at Roland Garros last year. Verdasco is trying to post his first Top 10 win of the season (0-4) and first since last June at the Queen’s Club in London where he beat No. 5 Wawrinka in 1R. Since 2014, Nishikori has won 13 of his past 15 Miami Open matches.
In the last day session match, Nadal brings a 13-1 career record against No. 26 Philipp Kohlschreiber, who defeated the Spaniard the only time on grass in 2012 Halle. This is Nadal’s 1,000th career ATP World Tour level singles match (821-178). He is the 11th player in the Open Era (since 1968) to reach this milestone. Kohlschreiber is trying to break an eight-match losing streak vs. Top 10 opponents since his win over No. 7 Berdych (ret.) in Davis Cup 1R tie in March 2016.
In the evening session, Sock looks for his second win against Jiri Vesely, the No. 2 player from the Czech Republic. Sock won the previous ATP World Tour meeting 6-2, 6-1 in the 2R of 2014 Memphis. Sock is off to a career-best 16-3 start and he is one of four players (Dimitrov, Federer, Tsonga) to capture two titles on the ATP World Tour this season.
On Grandstand, Raonic takes on #NextGenATP American qualifier Jared Donaldson, who lost the previous meeting 6-2, 6-3 on the Canadian’s home soil at ATP Masters 1000 Toronto last July. Raonic is playing his first tournament in a month since being sidelined with a right leg injury, which forced him to concede a walkover in the Delray Beach final (vs. Sock) on Feb. 26, then withdrew from Acapulco and Indian Wells. Donaldson is looking for his first career Top 10 win (0-3). In the next match on, Benoit Paire and surging Donald Young meet for the second time. Paire won the previous meeting on clay at 2012 Casablanca. Young is off to a 12-5 start this season and this is his best showing in eight appearances in Miami.
On Court 1, all three matches are between unseeded players as Federico Delbonis of Argentina takes on Jan-Lennard Struff of Germany for the first time on the ATP World Tour, followed by Nicolas Mahut of France vs. Guido Pella of Argentina in a first-time encounter. In the final match on, Frenchman Jeremy Chardy looks for his first win (0-2) against Italian Fabio Fognini, who won both previous meetings on clay.
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Karlovic, Goffin advance on Saturday
Nick Kyrgios continued his outstanding season on Saturday at the Miami Open presented by Itau, moving into the third-round with a 6-4, 6-3 win over Damir Dzumhur.
The 12th seed immediately went down a double break and trailed 0-3 in the opening set, but fought back to break Dzumhur three times and grab the early advantage. In a reversal of fortunes, Kyrgios went up 3-0 in the second set before eventually wrapping up the win in 63 minutes.
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Kyrgios, currently No. 16 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, moves to 11-3 in 2017. His consistent season includes a quarter-final showing at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Indian Wells, where he defeated World No. 2 and three-time defending champion Novak Djokovic in the fourth-round. He also defeated Djokovic en route to a semi-final showing in Acapulco (l. Querrey) and reached the final four in Montpellier (l. Tsonga).
Next up for Kyrgios is 17th seed Ivo Karlovic, who saved all four break points he faced to defeat Andrey Kuznetsov 7-6(4), 6-1. The Aussie leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 2-0.
Eighth seed David Goffin finished with a flourish to end the run of qualifier Darian King 7-5, 6-1. The Belgian won eight of the last nine games to move into the round of 32. Goffin is looking to match the success of his 2016 run in Miami, when he reached the semi-finals (l. Djokovic)
He’ll next play Diego Schwartzman, who continued his solid run in Miami by taking out 27th seed David Ferrer 6-2, 6-3. The Argentine remained in control throughout the match, breaking Ferrer five times to prevail in 76 minutes. Goffin and Schwartzman are even in their FedEx ATP Head2Head at 1-1.
Argentine defeats Haase in Miami
Juan Martin del Potro set up a mouth-watering clash with Roger Federer after prevailing in his second-round match on Saturday at the Miami Open presented by Itau, convincingly moving past Robin Haase 6-2, 6-4.
The 27th seed only dropped five points on serve in the opening set and broke Haase twice to grab the early advantage. Both players remained even early on in the second set, but del Potro found another gear and won the final 12 points to advance in one hour and 21 minutes. He improves his FedEx ATP Head2Head record over Haase to 3-0.
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Del Potro and Federer haven’t faced each other since the 2013 ATP Finals. The Swiss Maestro leads their FedEx ATP Head2Head rivalry 15-5, but their past seven matches have gone to a deciding set. Federer has won five of their six career meetings on outdoor hard-courts, including their past four meetings on the surface.
The Argentine is currently 6-3 this season, requiring some of the world’s best players to defeat him including Milos Raonic (Delray Beach) and Novak Djokovic (Acapulco and Indian Wells).
Roger Federer beat American teenager Frances Tiafoe in his first match at the Miami Open for three years.
The Swiss, 35, defeated the 19-year-old qualifier 7-6 (7-2) 6-3 to take his 2017 record to 14 wins and one loss.
Federer, who won has won the Australian Open and Indian Wells titles this year, missed Miami through illness in 2016.
Top seed Stan Wawrinka beat Horacio Zeballos 6-3 6-4, while women’s fifth seed Agnieszka Radwanska was thrashed 6-0 6-3 by Mirjana Lucic-Baroni.
“It’s quite tough conditions, raining and really windy today,” Swiss Wawrinka said.
“It’s really windy on the court, so it’s never easy. I’m happy with the way I was moving, the way I was playing and my attitude in general was really positive, so it’s a great match.”
Federer picked up where he left off in Indian Wells, winning his first 20 service points on the way to overcoming an impressive effort from Tiafoe, the world number 101.
“I’ve hit with Frances maybe twice before,” Federer said.
“I saw the power he had, the explosivity he had, how he easily can generate pace. He seemed to be fearless, good serving, taking the ball early and making the plays.
“What I like to see is when a younger player comes out and really feels he has nothing to lose and only has stuff to gain.”
Next up for Federer is Juan Martin del Potro, who beat Dutchman Robin Haase 6-2 6-4.
Federer has a 15-5 career record against Argentina’s Del Potro, the 2009 US Open champion.
“I would love to play against [Del Potro],” Federer said, speaking before knowing who his next opponent would be. “We’ve had some epic matches against each other. I’m sure the crowd would love to see it.”
Australian Nick Kyrgios won his match, and also received a code violation warning from the chair umpire for swearing at a spectator who called out during a point.
Kyrgios, the 12th seed, dropped his first two service games, but fought back to beat Damir Dzumhur 6-4 6-3.
Austrian sixth seed Dominic Thiem lost 6-1 7-5 to 20-year-old Croat Borna Coric, but Belgian eighth seed David Goffin beat Darian King of Barbados 7-5 6-1, and Czech 10th seed Tomas Berdych overcame Russia’s Andrey Rublev 6-3 6-2.
In the women’s draw, Croatian 26th seed Lucic-Baroni needed just 20 minutes to win the opening set as she swept past Poland’s Radwanska.
Spanish sixth seed Garbine Muguruza came through a tough test to beat China’s Zhang Shuai 4-6 6-2 6-2.
Karolina Pliskova, the Czech second seed, beat Kazak 27th seed Yulia Putintseva 7-5 6-3.
In the men’s doubles, fourth seeds Jamie Murray and Bruno Soares beat Treat Huey and Max Mirnyi 6-4 6-3.
Roger Federer put on a serving clinic in edging American teen Frances Tiafoe at the Miami Open presented by Itau on Saturday. Making his first appearance in Miami since 2014, Federer reeled off 20 consecutive service points in the first set, claiming 80 per cent overall, to prevail 7-6(2), 6-3.
The two-time champion extended his dominant run in 2017 to 14-1, kicking off his quest for a third title (2005-06) at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park. His 45 match wins in Miami is second only to six-time champion Andre Agassi (61). Less than a week after clinching the Indian Wells crown, Federer is seeking a third Sunshine Double.
Tiafoe’s mettle was tested early and often and the #NextGenATP star responded well, flashing his baseline firepower and trademark charisma. But Federer was undaunted on a windy and overcast late afternoon in South Florida. The first set proceeded to a tie-break and Federer took the immediate mini-break, striking a sharply angled backhand that pulled Tiafoe well off the court.
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World No. 101 Tiafoe entertained the home fans with brilliant backhand passes, but the qualifier was broken for 4-2 in the second set and Federer streaked to the finish line from there. A Tiafoe return winner denied his first match point, but a service winner closed out the win after one hour and 13 minutes.
Keeping points short, Federer won the majority of rallies under five shots (47-35) and fired 23 winners in total, including eight aces. A 21st FedEx ATP Head2Head encounter against Juan Martin del Potro looms large in the third round. Del Potro takes on Robin Haase in Saturday’s night session.
A vintage @rogerfederer performance!
We have a feeling this isn’t the last of Frances Tiafoe we’ll be seeing… https://t.co/uOv8aOb7Zp
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) March 25, 2017