A battle between 6’ 11” Reilly Opelka and 5’ 7” Diego Schwartzman was always going to have a quirky element to it. But height played a central role in an unusual dispute that led to a six-minute stoppage during the second-round match-up at the Miami Open Saturday.

At 2-all in the first set, Opelka called a time-out when he said sunlight reflecting on windows from neighbouring Hard Rock Stadium made it impossible for him to serve. ATP Supervisor Cedric Mourier, who had granted a halt in a match one day earlier for the same reason, agreed to a limited halt in play while the reflection issue subsided.

World No. 24 Schwartzman expressed his frustration, claiming that Opelka was only impeded because of his height.

While the Argentine made it clear to Opelka that he was not upset with him personally, he voiced his displeasure to Mourier and chair umpire Simon Cannavan. “It’s not fair to stop,” the Argentine said. “He’s too tall. That’s [the only reason] we’ve stopped.”

Opelka saw it differently.

“I don’t think it had anything to do with height,” he said. “I literally was blinded. I couldn’t see when I was throwing the ball up. The Supervisor was sitting out there for a reason. Every outside court has had the issue at different times when the sun is in different spots. He knew it was going to happen any minute and I would not have been able to play. Diego was friendly enough with me – he’s a classy guy – he just wasn’t happy with the ref.

“I didn’t even see the ball the point before. Then at 15/30 I went to toss it and I could not see. It [the reflection] just hit that second.”

After the match, Schwartzman said, “He’s too tall and he couldn’t see because of the stadium. It’s a new rule; if the player has any problem, you can stop. I think it’s not fair. I’ve never seen something like this. The stadium is 300m from our court.”

In an unlikely storyline, Opelka, who averages more than 20 aces a match, didn’t serve one ace against the diminutive Schwartzman in the first set, which featured five service breaks. He finished with eight aces for the match but took solace in beating such a quality opponent 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 when his serve wasn’t firing.

“It just wasn’t a good serving day. Didn’t hit my spots well or serve a high percentage. It was one of the worst service performances of the year. But he is one of the best returners in the game and he breaks serve more than anybody.

“I am happy that with my biggest weapon not working and coming off food poisoning two nights ago that I was still able to beat a great player. It shows there is more to my game than my serve and this match really showed that. I had to scrap for a lot of points.”

Opelka next meets World No. 15 Russian Daniil Medvedev, whom he pushed to a third-set tie-break in their only meeting in Washington, D.C. in 2017.

“It’s a very difficult match-up. He’s so tall and long. He’s going to be touching all my serves and from the baseline he’s a lot better than me, so it’s going to be brutal. I think he’s one of the top eight players in the world. He’s already close to the Top 10.

“His backhand is money and he’s solid off every angle. He’s big and it’s tough to get the ball by him. He crushes the ball so flat, so you can’t penetrate off his ball because he’s coming at you so hard. He’s a nightmare.

“The guys ahead of him are all older. He’s going to be a consistent Top 8 in the world in the next couple of years.”

Radu Albot walked off the court inside Hard Rock Stadium to a thunderous applause from thousands of fans. The Moldovan had just tested 100-time tour-level titlist Roger Federer in a two-hour, nine-minute three-setter in the pair’s first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting.

While the crowd — as was likely expected — was behind the Swiss, Albot certainly earned its respect.

“It was different, playing against a superstar. It’s different to play and to feel that everybody is cheering for him. It’s different to play with one of the best players of all-time, and to feel his shots and his capability to play against me, to feel it myself,” Albot said. “Of course I went on the court absolutely willing and sure that I could win that match.

“But the experience is pretty interesting. You play all your life and all the tournaments to be here and to compete against the best. When you finally have a chance to play against the best, I think it’s a good achievement and something I finally accomplished in my career.”

It was the first time Albot has faced an opponent inside the Top 5 of the ATP Rankings. He had never faced another former World No.1, either.

“I’ve never practised with him, and there were a couple of shots that I didn’t expect, or another player would play differently. But I have to say he handles the ball very well,” Albot said. “He can maneuver it like everywhere and create angles, create height, create sidespin. Now that I competed against him for more than two hours, I felt on my skin all he can do, in a way.”

There was never a moment in which Albot was overtaken by the occasion. He never looked across the net and let sink in the fact that he was playing Federer.

“There is nothing to process and to look at because on the other side is also a human. He has strengths and weaknesses and if you play the right way, you can win,” Albot said. “So there’s nothing to be afraid of, because if you’re afraid and you’re scared, that means you have no chance right away.”

Albot earned the first break opportunity in all three sets. And if one of those went differently, perhaps the 5’9” Moldovan would have sprung the upset. His performance caught Federer’s attention.

“I thought it was hard. I was impressed. I have a lot of respect for those types of players who don’t have the size, have to find a different way to win,” Federer said. “He’s a great, great player. I was impressed.”

Since Delray Beach champion Albot had never been in this position before, preparation for the match could have been different. But given the form he is in, cracking the Top 50 of the ATP Rankings for the first time ahead of this tournament, he also wanted to focus on his own game.

“You have to think about everybody’s gamestyle. Of course everybody knows that Roger’s serve and forehand is top-class. You have to be aware of those two shots and maybe to play a little bit more to the backhand, to cover that part of the court more. I focused on this a little bit,” Albot said. “I just tried not to change a lot because when you try to think of different things, it’s not worth it. You just have to keep your game and continue what you’re doing well and not suddenly change because it’s Roger.”

Albot is plenty motivated as it is. But this makes him even hungrier to put himself in position to play Federer or one of the other superstars of the sport to try to change the result.

“I would like to play against top guys. Now I had the chance to play against Roger and I’m not afraid to say I’d like to play against the top guys again,” Albot said. “That’s why you practise, that’s why you compete at the highest level, to be able to get in position in the earlier or later stages of the tournament, hopefully, to compete against them and hopefully it will happen more in the future.”

While Albot did not walk off the court with a victory, he left it with plenty of memories. And those in attendance will remember him, too.

“At that moment everybody was clapping, everybody was cheering for me while I was walking off the court, I stopped for a little bit and thanked everybody from every corner of the stands and I have to say that it was pretty loud,” Albot said. “The atmosphere was nice. I’ve never played with such a big stadium and to be almost full is something new for me. I really, really enjoyed it, even if I lost. Of course I would like to win, but walking off the court everyone was clapping and cheering for me, so this was very impressive and a good experience.”

The Roger Federer Foundation’s work in Malawi to educate children has pivoted to provide critical assistance to thousands of people displaced by the recent Cyclone Idai that killed more than 600 people in Southern Africa.  As the floodwaters have started to recede, the death toll across Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi is expected to continue to grow.

“Cyclone Idai is a unbelievable disaster,” Federer said. “And it hit the most vulnerable ones in Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. It will take years for people to recover. My thoughts and solidarity are with the thousands of displaced people and families who lost their loved ones.”

The most affected District is Nsanje in the south of Malawi, an underdeveloped country in which nearly 70 percent of its 17 million people live on less than $1.90 a day. All of the Foundation’s six model preschools have been converted to evacuation centres. More than 9000 families in the district have been displaced, including 77 of the Foundation’s kindergarten teachers.

The Foundation’s satellite centres, which are not robust structures like the model centres, have not fared so well. Many have collapsed or need significant repairs before children can resume classes.

The most urgent need is to provide safe water and sanitation facilities to affected families in order to prevent an epidemic.

Help the Roger Federer Foundation and other relevant organisations in the disaster region to rebuild facilities and provide relief to typhoon victims by donating now.

Roger Federer Foundation

World Food Programme

UNICEF