RBA…. FAA…. Those might as well be the Miami Open’s call letters right now.
A depleted top half of the draw was blown completely open on Tuesday, when Roberto Bautista Agut and Felix Auger-Aliassime delivered two of the biggest victories of their respective careers. Bautista Agut battled back from a set and a break deficit to stun world No. 1 Novak Djokovic, while Auger-Aliassime reached his first Masters 1000 quarterfinal by beating Basilashvili 7-6(4), 6-4.
Having already toppled Djokovic once this season (en route to the Doha title), the Spaniard was both lucky and good in this one. Although Bautista Agut had already begun his comeback when a 40-minute rain delay interrupted the second set, the break certainly didn’t hurt his recovery effort. He stormed back out of the gates like gangbusters, while Djokovic never again looked the same as he did in the first set. The top seed’s malaise combined with Bautista Agut’s borderline flawless ball-striking led to the surprising outcome after two hours and 29 minutes.
“It’s not the rain delay,” Djokovic said when asked about what changed. “Look, (the) rain delay came at 5-4 (on serve). I was break up right away in the second. I lost the momentum; I lost the rhythm in the second set (before the delay). I gave him a little room to step in and he did. A little hope that he can come back, and he made a great comeback.
“But fault is on me, for sure. I had way too many opportunities that I wasted.”
Auger-Aliassime is creating his own opportunities after heading to Miami without a wild card. Since successfully qualifying for the main draw, he has pulled off wins over Casper Ruud, Marton Fucsovics, Hubert Hurkacz, and now Basilashvili.
The 18-year-old Canadian will climb to at least 41st in the rankings next week, living up to massive expectations much sooner than anyone could have thought.
“I think I have been dealing with [high expectations] for the last couple of years, so I think in a way that’s why I am able now to have these kind of results,” he explained. “Because this extra pressure, this attention that I gave maybe last year or the year before to the outcomes (and) to the media, that’s a bit behind me now. I’m able really to stay in the present and really focus on what I have to do on the court, finding ways to win. That just keeps me going and just keeps me happy.”
Auger-Aliassime will try to keep it going at Borna Coric’s expense on Wednesday after Coric ousted Nick Kyrgios 4-6, 6-3, 6-2.
The other top-half quarterfinal pits Bautista Agut against defending champion John Isner, who defeated Kyle Edmund 7-6(5), 7-6(3).
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who’s making the final?
No idea. But if Fed should lose tomorrow, we might have the youngest set of quarter-finalists at a masters level event in a long, long time. Here’s who remains:
Fed: 37
Isner: 33
Anderson: 32
RBA: 30
Medvedev: 23
Coric: 22
Tiafoe: 21
Tsitsipas: 20
Shapo: 19
FAA: 18
I’ll say this: best for tennis would a final pitting two players of African descent, Auger-Aliassime vs. Tiafoe. Felix vs. Frances. I’d love to see it.
would be epic. as would Felix-Shap.
Really like RBA IN 3
Picking FAA in 3 but that is more of a heart pick than a head one
As to who is making the final, you could almost flip a coin or roll a d4 (my inner nerd coming out).
Will it be anticlimactic if it’s Anderson vs Isner in the final?
A matchup like that should be banned from happening too often
I thought there were more interesting matchups in the early rounds than usual. Fed v Medvedev was rather a disappointment.
This whole tournament has been anticlimactic from the start
definitely not. has been outstanding.
Some great matches,but Im cynical so many top players didn’t show up… maybe thinking of a nice break before the clay season
You’re missing Cilic? Pretty much everyone else was there, but a lot of them went out early. Rafa, of course, got hurt in IW.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=131&v=TrrhPoFyZ8E
RBA press conference