Another installment of the Roger Federer vs. Juan Martin Del Potro rivalry will have to wait.
Federer and Del Potro were scheduled to face each other for the first time since 2013 at the Miami Open on Friday afternoon. But there was no rematch of the 2009 U.S. Open final, as Federer withdrew earlier in the day due to illness. Gastroenteritis was the official reason for the former world No. 1’s absence.
Federer took the practice court for a light warmup with coach Ivan Ljubicic around noon, hitting a few balls and working on serves. He left after 30 minutes without signing any autographs. Speculation ran rampant that something was amiss with the Swiss, who had been set to make his first appearance on the ATP Tour since the Australian Open. A knee injury had sidelined Federer for all of February and from Indian Wells.
Lucky loser Horacio Zeballos replaced Federer, resulting in an all-Argentine affair with Del Potro. Despite suddenly staring at a much more favorable draw, Del Potro could not take advantage. Still dealing with pain in his left wrist, the 27-year-old lost 6-4, 6-4 in one hour and 21 minutes.
Zeballos positively dominated on serve, surrendering only nine points in 10 service games. One break in each set was enough for the world No. 112, and the second came with Del Potro hoping to stay in the match at 4-5 in the second. A shanked overhead by Del Potro brought up match point and he sent a forehand just past the baseline to end it.
“I was suffering a little bit,” he lamented. “It was worse than my first match, but I hope nothing dangerous. I will see what’s going on after today and see if I can practice tomorrow–if I can hit again [a] backhand.
“They said before this is a long road to get better; not to play well or to win matches, just to get better and to play tennis again. I’m looking forward for that. For me it’s like surprise when I win a match in this moment because I’m not 100 percent yet. But I’m here. Of course I’m suffering in moments, but I’m playing tennis–bad or really bad, but I’m playing. That’s good for me.”
What’s not good for the tournament is the early exits of Federer and Del Potro. The third-round matchup in that section of the draw is now Zeballos vs. Fernando Verdasco. Verdasco advanced with a 6-4, 6-4 victory over Jeremy Chardy.
Other winners on Friday were Novak Djokovic, Steve Johnson, Dominic Thiem, Benoit Paire, David Ferrer, Gilles Simon, Marin Cilic, and David Goffin. Tomas Berdych advanced via a walkover from Rajeev Ram. Djokovic started off the night session by defeating 21-year-old Brit Kyle Edmund 6-3, 6-3.
Last two photos courtesy of Miami Tennis News
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