Roger Federer came up one match short of defending his Indian Wells title and he will begin another title defense on Saturday in Miami, where he is facing Thanasi Kokkinakis. The second-round schedule also includes Alexander Zverev and Daniil Medvedev.
(1) Roger Federer vs. (Q) Thanasi Kokkinakis
Federer took a 13-1 record with him into the Miami Open last season and promptly extended that mark to 19-1 with his third title at this Masters 1000 tournament. He is a similar 17-1 for his 2018 campaign, showing absolutely no signs of slowing down at 36 years old. Whereas Federer triumphed in Indian Wells last spring, his lone loss of this season has come in the desert–where he held three championship points on his own serve against Juan Martin Del Potro only to fall 6-4, 6-7(8), 7-6(2). The Swiss triumphed again at the Australian Open and returned to world No. 1 by lifting the Rotterdam trophy prior to his runner-up performance in Indian Wells.
Up first for Federer on Saturday afternoon is Kokkinakis, whom he has never faced. It has already been a productive stay in Miami for the 21-year-old Australian, who is returning from various injuries and slowly making his way back at 175th in the rankings. Kokkinakis qualified for the main draw with straight-set victories over Thiago Monteiro and Taro Daniel before hammering fellow qualifier Calvin Hemery 6-1, 6-2 on Thursday. Unfortunately for the underdog, he has played only two matches against top 100 opponents in 2018 and has lost both of them in relatively routine fashion–to Daniil Medvedev at the Australian Open and to Feliciano Lopez in Acapulco. The toughest competition of all should bring about a quick end to Kokkinakis’ week.
Pick: Federer in 2 losing 5-7 games
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(4) Alexander Zverev vs. Daniil Medvedev
Zverev and Medvedev will be going head-to-head for the third time in their careers on Saturday. Both of their previous encounters have gone the way of the fifth-ranked German, who prevailed 6-3, 7-5 on the indoor hard courts of St. Petersburg in 2016 and 6-2, 6-4 last season in Washington, D.C. Since his summer hot streak that included the win over Medvedev, however, things have mostly gone downhill for Zverev. Following back-to-back titles in Washington, D.C. and Montreal, the 20-year-old went a mere 9-9 in his last 18 matches of the season. He is off to a slow start in 2018, too, with an 8-4 record that is plagued by losses at the hands Andreas Seppi in Rotterdam and Joao Sousa right away in Indian Wells.
Medvedev is coming off a breakout 2017 campaign in which he won 24 ATP-level matches, having previously won five in his career. The 22-year-old Russian is not looking back this season, with an 11-4 record that includes his first title in Sydney. Medevedev, who reached the third round in Indian Wells, survived a contentious affair with Stefanos Tsitsipas 2-6, 6-4, 6-2 on Thursday. This is a great opportunity for an in-form underdog to take advantage of a much higher-ranked opponent who has lost boatloads of confidence since last summer.
Pick: Medvedev in 3
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WWW?
Yeaaaaaah, uhmmmm….. no.
Sascha in two.
And do we really need an expert pick on Federer before next Sunday? (see opening line above)
#LetsNotOverthinkThings
#RememberHerbert
Kokki takes out the cocky😀
Hahahhahahahhahahahahhaahahahahahhahaahah
AND rafa is no1 again😃😃
Well done, Kokki! 👍
No clay for Fed. He’s just announced it
Congrats Rafa fans! Your guy got back to #1 without having to step on the court. 🙂
Stuart Fraser (Tennis writer) 5 minutes ago:
“BREAKING: Roger Federer confirms that he will not play the clay season. No French Open.”
https://twitter.com/stu_fraser/status/977671055052550144
Crazy! I’m so sad because I am gonna be in Miami for the semis and finals and won’t see Roger now 😭😭 congrats to Kokkinakis though…Stay healthy dude we need you on the tour!!
Aw, Benny…. I am so sorry man. Not really that Fed lost, but that you went there to see him and now you won’t get to. 🙁 I seriously feel really sad for you…
Thanks Kev 😞
Smart choice by Fed. Judging on how he’s looked recently, he wouldn’t last a second on clay…. He would only bring the end of his career closer by attempting to play clay. I think next season will be his final season, as his contract with Basel ends in 2019. So all you Federer haters only need to deal with it for another year and a half. 😉
So I predict that next season he plays only Roland Garros for clay, just for one last visit to say farewell. I actually wouldn’t be surprised if Basel 2019 is where he calls it a career. I’m going to repost this prediction next year after is comes to fruition. 🙂
Wow. What a shocker! I only saw the TB but it seems that Fed’s 2nd serve return went MIA for the match? Resting for the clay court season probably a smart decision on Fed’s part. One last run at Wimbly?
Would not be surprised to see Rafa cough up the #1 again. He has a ton of clay season points to defend and is making noises about playing the next DC.
I’m a Rafan through and through but I’m also a Big Four fan. Don’t want to lose any of those guys, especially not Roger. They have been truly special.
“I’m a Rafan through & through but i’m also a Big Four fan”….YESSSS Ramara!…I’m with u sis!…Will feel really sad if all of them hang their racquet one day…Yeah!…They’re really special!…In my heart too!
Maybe you’re right Kevin,however I feel like he’s aiming for the 2020 Olympics as the final chapter on his career. I also doubt very much he’ll ever play clay again,especially knowing that Wimby his the main goal for him,he could be absolutely cooked after the clay season,too much risk for his health.
Who called this? I knew Kokk has a great game but I didn’t expect him to win. Kokk didn’t believe in the first set but once he broke serve he thought he should go for it and he made it!
Kokkinakis’ self-belief was incredible, given his age, his ranking, and especially who he was playing. It’s obvious why he was compared to Kyrgios a few years ago in terms of young talent.
Kokkinakis is a very talented player, nice to see him get a big win like this after all the injuries he’s had to battle through. He doesn’t have Kyrgios’ shots, but he’s more stable mentally. Guess you could say that about most players though.
Rog has apparently confirmed he’s skipping the clay season, which is the right move imo, he needs to freshen up and get ready for grass. It’s disappointing to think that he has probably been to the FO for the last time already, but I suppose it’s logically the right call.
Guess he doesn’t want the h2h with Rafa to become even more lopsided :-;
Great win for 4ks – haven’t seen him play much so hadn’t realiseed he was so talented.
Sad to think we are watching an amazing era in mens’ tennis drawing to a close but there is a clutch of YoungGens waiting in the wings.