Caroline Wozniacki vs Johanna Konta Miami 2017 Preview and Prediction
Caroline Wozniacki can continue her great run with victory over Johanna Konta in the Miami Open final. While it is still…
Caroline Wozniacki can continue her great run with victory over Johanna Konta in the Miami Open final. While it is still…
Roger Federer won a thrilling three-hour contest against Nick Kyrgios to set up a final against Rafael Nadal at the Miami Open.
The Swiss, 35, won 7-6 (11-9) 6-7 (9-11) 7-6 (7-5) to take his 2017 record to 18 wins and one defeat.
Federer will take on Nadal for the 37th time on Sunday, and the second this year after beating the Spaniard in January’s Australian Open final.
Nadal, 30, beat Italy’s Fabio Fognini 6-1 7-5 in the first semi-final.
Fognini, 29, had become the first unseeded player in 10 years to make the last four but was no match for Nadal, who will try to win a first Miami title in his fifth final on Sunday.
“It’s great to be in the final for me,” said Nadal after winning the first of the semi-finals. “I am excited to play another final of an important event.
“If it’s Roger, it’s going to be another one for both of us, and that’s it. Just another one.”
Federer made sure that there will be another episode to his rivalry with Nadal, which began in Miami 13 years ago.
The 18-time Grand Slam champion maintained his spectacular run of results with victory over the in-form Kyrgios.
“It felt very good,” said the Swiss, who last won the Miami title in 2006. “You don’t very often play three breakers in a match.
“Winning breakers is always such a thrill. I tried to really fight for it. I can’t always show my fighting skills, it is great winning this way.”
Despite playing in front of a heavily pro-Federer crowd, Kyrgios extended the former champion over three hours and 10 minutes, with the 21-year-old Australian showing his frustration by smashing his racquet after losing match point.
“I had some ups and downs, bit of a rollercoaster,” said Kyrgios.
“Ultimately I think I put in a good performance. I thought the crowd would’ve enjoyed watching it, people at home would’ve enjoyed watching it. But I wouldn’t be surprised if they found something bad, though.”
On Saturday, British number one Johanna Konta plays Denmark’s Caroline Wozniacki in the women’s final at 18:00 BST – with live text commentary on the BBC Sport website.
Konta, 25, became the first British woman to reach the Miami Open final with a 6-4 7-5 victory over Venus Williams in the last four on Thursday.
Swiss maestro grabs opening set in Miami semi-final
Roger Federer is one set away from the final at the Miami Open presented by Itau, saving two set points to take an epic 7-6(9) opening set in their semi-final on Friday.
Kyrgios struck first in the match, earning two break point chances at 3-3 with a booming forehand up the line. The 12th seed converted on his second opportunity with an aggressive backhand return down the line and pumped his first in celebration.
The Aussie earned a chance to serve for the set at 5-4, but went down 15/40 after floating a backhand volley wide and received a jeer from the Stadium Court crowd after tossing his racquet to the ground in frustration. The Aussie gambled on a big second serve in the next point and double faulted, handing the break back to Federer.
Enjoying success as he charged the net with greater frequency, Federer began to unravel Kyrgios, who appeared visibly frustrated. However, the 12th seed was able to remain calm when it mattered most, saving a set point with a thunderous ace out wide to ultimately force a tie-break.
Federer earned a set point at 6/5 with a swinging forehand volley winner, but failed to convert after sending a backhand well wide. Another set point chance came and went at 7/6 before Kyrgios earned his first set point at 8/7. He missed the opportunity with a forehand error and Federer erased a second set point down 8/9 with a backhand winner.
Kyrgios rolled the dice once again on a second serve at 9/9 and double faulted. Federer made good on third set point chance, bringing the crowd to their feet after Kyrgios struck a backhand into the doubles alley.
Monroe/Sock take on sixth seeds Kubot/Melo
Watch the Miami Open presented by Itau doubles final live on TennisTV.com not before 3 pm EDT/ 9 pm CEST
• In Saturday’s doubles championship, the unseeded American duo of Nicholas Monroe and Jack Sock take on No. 6 seeds Lukasz Kubot of Poland and Marcelo Melo of Brazil. All four players are trying to win their first Miami Open presented by Itau title. Sock is the only former finalist, in 2015 (w/Pospisil). They lost to the Bryan brothers.
• Monroe/Sock defeated Qureshi/Simon 64 63 in 1R, [1] Kontinen/Peers 36 76(5) 10-8 in 2R, [7] Dodig/Granollers 76(5) 63 in QF and [3] Bryan/Bryan 76(5) 63 in SF to reach first final of season and second together (2015 Stockholm)
• They are playing in their first tournament of the season and fifth career ATP World Tour tourney (10-3 record). They first teamed up at the Sacramento, CA Challenger in 2011 and reached the final. In 2012, they played two Futures events and three Challengers, reaching finals in Honolulu and Dallas. That year, they made their ATP World Tour debut in Delray Beach (1R). In 2013-14, they played the Savannah, GA Challenger each year. In their lone tournament in 2015 in Stockholm they won the title (d. Pavic/Venus). Last year they played twice, in Rio de Janeiro (1R) and ATP Masters 1000 Paris (QF)
• Monroe is 5-1 lifetime in Miami and prior to this year his best result was QFs last year (w/Isner)
• Sock is 11-4 lifetime in Miami and prior to this year his best result was a runner-up in 2015 (w/Pospisil)
• Monroe has a 3-4 career record in ATP World Tour finals with all three titles coming in Sweden: 2013 (w/Stadler) and 2014 (w/Brunstrom) in Bastad along with 2015 Stockholm (w/Sock)
• Sock has an 8-8 career record in ATP World Tour level finals, including 2-5 in ATP Masters 1000 finals (won 2015 Indian Wells w/Pospisil; 2016 Shanghai w/Isner). Biggest title came at 2014 Wimbledon (w/Pospisil)
• Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings: Monroe No. 53 (Career-High No. 46 on Jan. 30, 2017), Sock No. 22 (Career-High No. 6 on May 11, 2015)
• Kubot/Melo have dropped three sets en route to the final, defeating [WC] Daniell/Demolnier26 76(0) 10-7 in 1R, Rojer/Tecau 64 36 11-9 in 2R, [4] J. Murray/Soares 26 63 10-8 in QF and Baker/Nestor 64 63 in SF to reach second straight ATP Masters 1000 final. In Indian Wells two weeks ago, they lost to [6] Klaasen/Ram 67 64 10-8 in title match
• They are playing in 11th career tournament together (22-8 record) and fourth ATP World Tour final (2-1). They won title in 2015 debut in Vienna and last year defended title. They went 4-0 in 2015, 6-2 last season and are 12-6 in 2017
• Kubot is 8-5 lifetime in Miami and prior to this year his best result was QFs in 2012 (w/Tipsarevic)
• Melo is 12-9 lifetime in Miami and prior to this year his best result was SFs in 2015 (w/Soares)
• Kubot has a 14-11 career record in finals and 0-2 in ATP Masters 1000 finals (2012 Rome w/Tipsarevic),Indian Wells
• Melo has a 22-20 career record in finals and 5-3 in ATP Masters 1000 finals (won 2013 Shanghai, 2015 Shanghai & Paris-Bercy, 2016 Toronto & Cincinnati)
• Emirates ATP Doubles Rankings: Kubot No. 17 (Career-High No. 7 on Sept. 27, 2010), Melo No. 9 (Career-High No. 1 on Nov. 2, 2015)
The Swiss and Australian stars will meet at 7 p.m. local time (midnight GMT) Friday
Nick Kyrgios will compete against Roger Federer for the first time in almost two years on Friday in the Miami Open presented by Itau semi-finals. It will be an eagerly anticipated clash, 14 days on from Kyrgios withdrawing due to food poisoning prior to facing Federer in the BNP Paribas Open quarter-finals.
“Obviously, Federer’s the greatest player of all-time, but the way that he takes time away from players is his strength,” said No. 12 seed Kyrgios on Thursday, after he beat Alexander Zverev in the last eight. “He likes to play his pace of tennis. He likes to take away time and play aggressively and likes to get through his service games very quickly – serve and volley. I know what’s going to be coming.”
In May 2015, Kyrgios fired down 22 aces and saved two match points in a 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 7-6(12) victory over Federer in the Mutua Madrid Open second round.
“I don’t know if my chances are great playing Federer and possibly [Rafael] Nadal, two of the greatest tennis players of all-time,” said Kyrgios. “I’m just excited to go out there tomorrow and give it my best shot. I am not thinking ahead. It would be foolish to be thinking ahead past Federer. He deserves a bit more respect than that.
“Obviously when I played juniors, under-12s, under-14s, I would be seeing him on the TV all the time on the advertisements. It’s pretty surreal for me still. I was watching Gael Monfils on TV. I went to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga’s practices when I was 12. So it is still pretty surreal be next to those guys in the locker room, playing them, beating them.”
The 21-year-old Kyrgios is appearing in his second straight Miami semi-final and he’s the first Australian to reach back-to-back semi-finals in Key Biscayne since former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt’s three in a row from 2000-02.
Fourth seed Federer, who won the 2005-06 Miami titles and reached the 2002 final, comes in with a nine-match winning streak and 17-1 record on the season, his best start since 2006 when he went 33-1. The 35-year-old superstar is appearing in his sixth Miami semi-final (3-2) and the first since 2011. The 21-year-old Kyrgios has a 12-17 career record vs. Top 10 opponents, including 4-6 vs. the Big Four of Murray (0-5), Djokovic (2-0), Federer (1-0) and Nadal (1-1).
Speaking about Kyrgios recently in Indian Wells, Federer believes that the Aussie has long been on a promising track to success. “I think he’s more established than I was back then already, because he’s already beaten great players for a while now,” said Federer. “I don’t think I was doing as great as he was. I didn’t have that big of a game, per se, with the serve and everything.
“I feel like Nick and me, we have a lot of options, so it’s hard for us to always pick the right one. I don’t want to say I was a late bloomer. I don’t think I was…[but] I think both our games need a bit more time on the mental side and physical side. That’s maybe going to take a bit more time, but that’s why he can win tournaments. When it matters the most against the best players and in finals, he’s there. That’s a great quality to have already now.”
With Federer riding a wave of confidence on hard courts in 2017, he’ll be eager to turn the tables on Kyrgios, following their titanic 2015 Madrid battle. “I had to waste a match point and lose that match. I was like, ‘What a waste.’ That’s how I felt,” said Federer, in Indian Wells. “But I’m looking forward to this match. Of course, I’d love to get him back.”
Rafael Nadal will play in his fifth Miami Open presented by Itau final after rolling past Italian Fabio Fognini 6-1, 7-5 in Friday’s first semi-final. The Spaniard kept up his sizzling South Florida play, never facing a break point and pressuring the Italian’s serve throughout the 90-minute contest.
In Sunday’s final, the 30-year-old Nadal will try to achieve what’s eluded him on four other occasions: the Miami Open presented by Itau title. The Spaniard also reached the Miami final in 2005 (l. to Federer), 2008 (l. to Davydenko), 2011 and 2014 (l. to Djokovic both times). Nadal, who will be going for his 29th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 crown, will face either fourth seed Roger Federer or Aussie Nick Kyrgios, who play Friday evening.
“It’s great to be in the final… For me, doesn’t matter the opponent. I am happy to be in that final again, and I am excited to play another final of an important event,” Nadal said.
The Spaniard improved to 8-3 against Fognini in their FedEx ATP Head2Head series, and has only lost one set during the Miami tournament – his opening bagel against German Philipp Kohlschreiber in the third round. What has carried Nadal to his fifth Miami final – stellar serving and opportunistic returning – propelled him on Friday as well.
The Spaniard sprinted through the first set, losing only four points on his serve (16/20) and forcing Fognini to stay in rallies. The Italian mixed up his pace nicely but struggled to string together any momentum, eventually netting a backhand to give Nadal the opener after just 26 minutes. Fognini finished the first set with 14 unforced errors.
“My serve worked well,” Nadal said. “I think I didn’t face a break point during the whole match, so that is something that I am very happy with. That gives you calm when you have opportunities on the return and you don’t convert.”
Watch Full Match Replays
The 30-year-old Italian, playing in his second Masters 1000 semi-final, came to life in the second set, though. He matched Nadal’s pace and erased five break points during his first two service games. It looked as if Fognini might force their last-four match-up into a decider. But at 5-5, Fognini double faulted and Nadal had his break. Four points later, he had the match.
“Two different matches today. I think first set was no match… Second one, when I was starting to play my tennis, I think he was feeling that I was feeling better and better and a few points were going to decide the match,” Fognini said. “At the end, I think we had a great fight.”