A blockbuster showdown between Roger Federer and Juan Martin Del Potro is set for Friday in Miami. Second-round action also features fellow veterans Gilles Simon and Juan Monaco.
(3) Roger Federer vs. (PR) Juan Martin Del Potro
Federer and Del Potro will be squaring off for the 21st time in their careers and for the first time since 2013 when they meet again in round two of the Miami Open on Friday. The head-to-head series stands at 15-5 in favor of Federer mainly because he dominated the formative years of the rivalry. Starting in the summer of 2012, however, the matchup developed into arguably the most intriguing on tour. Dating back to the French Open four seasons ago, six consecutive showdowns between Federer and Del Potro have progressed to final sets–including Federer’s comeback from two sets down at Roland Garros and his 19-17 in the third set triumph at the London Olympics less than three months later. Del Potro then reeled off three consecutive victories before Federer prevailed 6-3, 4-6, 6-3 at the 2013 World Tour Finals.
The drought in the rivalry, of course, has come as a result of Del Potro’s inactivity due to a recurring left-wrist injury. The 2009 U.S. Open champion began his latest comeback earlier this season in Delray Beach, where he cruised to three straight-victories before bowing out at the hands of eventual champion Sam Querrey. Del Potro has since recorded wins over Tim Smyczek (Indian Wells) and Guido Pella (Wednesday night in Miami) in addition to a setback against Tomas Berdych. Making a comeback of his own, Federer missed all of February and the BNP Paribas Open because of a minor knee injury. The 34-year-old Swiss is an abbreviated 8-2 for his 2016 campaign. Del Potro should be able to make this competitive, but losses to Querrey and Berdych suggest that he is not quite ready for tough competition against opponents who are capable of dictating play and exploiting his backhand.
Pick: Federer in 2
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Juan Monaco vs. (18) Gilles Simon
Another injury-plagued Argentine (also the wrist) will be in action when Monaco takes the court for his second match of the fortnight on Friday. The 31-year-old found himself on thin ice during his opener when he trailed Ivan Dodig 6-3, 3-1, but the Croat promptly lost 10 consecutive games and retired while trailing 5-o in the third. Monaco has slipped to No. 108 in the rankings due to inactivity and he is a modest 2-3 for the season.
Up next for Monaco is a seventh career meeting with Simon. The head-to-head series stands at 3-3, including 1-1 on hard courts (both indoors). They two veterans have faced each other only once since 2011 and on no occasions since 2013. Simon registers at a respectable 19th in the world but his year has been disappointing with an even 6-6 record. The Frenchman has not won back-to-back matches since the Australian Open and he is 3-5 dating back to his error-fest against Novak Djokovic in Melbourne. Simon should, though, get back on track against an opponent who is still lacking match practice.
Pick: Simon in 3
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Federer said his expectations for Miami are “very low”
Same as Ricky
C’mon. It’s Pico!!!
Gilles “Moore S’il-vous-plait” Simon in two.
Roger “Bad-Knee-Rules” Federer over John-Marty in two.
Roger in two especially because of the Del Po backhand and I’m gonna go bold and take Monaco in three.
Federer in 2
Simon in 2
Fed in 2 sets.
Simon in 2 sets.
Fedexpress in straight sets and Giles in two except you just never know sometimes with him
There are rumors that Fed has pulled out of the Miami Open due to illness (not due to his knee injury.)
Confirmed
Fed has pulled out.
Federer has chickened out with a virus.
Rafa chickened out for seven months and delpo chickened out for a year.
AT 5:49 PM,
Rafa can sue you!
Rafa: “I gonna sue her, and I gonna sue everyone who gonna comment something similar in the future, because I am tired of that.”
https://ca.sports.yahoo.com/blogs/eh-game/-i-gonna-sue-her—says-rafael-nadal-of-france-s-former-sports-minister-061651548.html
You can’t read very well, can you.
Rafa, just DO IT!
I think he should sue you for defamation of character for saying he’d make fed fans happy last year. Disgraceful.
I wonder if it’s possible that Fed’s wins wouldn’t make his fans happy. Somebody wrote last year: “Fed would have had a good shot at the win against Rafa.”
https://tenngrand.com/2015/03/19/indian-wells-qf-previews-and-picks-nadal-vs-raonic-federer-vs-berdych/comment-page-3/#comment-18614
Pot and kettle. Nothing new.
Rafa should sue you for defamation.
Rafa has promised to sue people making up stories. Just DO IT, Rafa!
So you can’t read. That’s still no excuse. Rafa should still sue you for saying Rafa would have made fed fans happy.
To be voted by the Supreme Court:
¤ Fed’s wins make his fans happy:…
¤ Fed’s wins do not make his fans happy:…
You are guilty as charged for assuming Rafa would make fed fans happy.
Rafa should sue YOU for defamation of character.
Gastro
Rafa is not going to sue anyone on this site!
He’s got better things to do with his time!
His lawyers are doing this job.
his lawyers should sue you for defamation of Rafa’s character.
hawkeye, I think you might just get sued for accusing Rafa of suffering from mental illness.
He should sue you for not wanting to live in a world without Rafa as you’ve claimed. You are not his responsibility.
nadline10 (AT 4:08 PM)
?
nny (AT 9:29 PM)
?
A baseless hope AT 4:29 PM.
Why NNY, are you worried he might sue you for disloyalty?
Only fans that hold Rafa to a standard of a god are disloyal to him and should all be sued.
If you love him, set him FREE! ?
sorry!
I’m bored. No one to watch tennis with me.
Kei won, Milos won. Kvitova lost…
nadline,
No, but I am concerned that Rafa would want to disavow your mean-spirited comments and over the top judgmental attitude towards other Rafa fans.
Rafa has no cruelty and meanness in him. But you deliberately and willfully ignore this and continue your personal vendetta against anyone who you presume to think is not as hero worshipful and obsessed as you are.
You are not God. You have presumptuously designated yourself as rafa’s so-called number one fan. I would find it laughable if your harsh attacks on other Rafa fans here were not so tasteless and lacking in class.
Rafa would never consider anyone like you a real fan if his on any level.
Maybe he might want to sue you for masquerading as a Rafa fan, while not embodying his generous spirit and kind nature.
well that’s eloquently put. Just look at Rafa’s nature… such a kind, humble and gentle human being.
Yep. NNY is a true Rafan and tennis fan.
Well said nny. You nailed it again!
AT 6:10 PM
To paraphrase NNY: this statment implies that there are “not true” Rafans. Why would anyone make a statement like this?
.
nativenewyorker7 APRIL 4, 2015 AT 12:51 AM:
¤¤…so-called “real” Rafans don’t write off Rafa! Why would anyone make a statement like this? Because this statement implies that there are “not real” Rafans!¤¤
https://tenngrand.com/2015/03/29/miami-r3-previews-and-picks-nadal-vs-verdasco-tsonga-vs-monfils/comment-page-3/#comment-18903
AT 6:10 PM,
She is hammering heavily on the others’ heads.
?
NNY, you have to learn to see the lighter side of things.
Again, you prove that you cannot read very well and you only post opinions on other posters, never any opinions on tennis or Rafa.
nadline typically is being intentionally disingenuous.
@hawkeye, that is like a constant. No comments to contribute to discussion on tennis but 24/7 posting of opinions on other posters…lol
‘.. learn to see the lighter side of things.’
HAHAHAHHA where did THAT come from !! LOL 😀
AT 6:59 PM.
Yep, hawk is constantly hammering.
OFFICIAL.
RT Miami Open: “News: Roger Federer has withdrawn due to a stomach virus.
Replacing him will be lucky loser Horacio Zeballos.”
https://twitter.com/MiamiOpen/status/713423712658309120
nadline,
How convenient! Whenever you are called out for using Rafa as cover so that you can take cheap shots at others here, you then retreat behind the old – I was just funning – excuse! It’s not going to work because you have pulled out this phony excuse you often.
If you meant it to be taken lightly, then you could have posted a smiley face at the end. But you did not.
I find nothing even remotely humorous about your repetitive attacks on other Rafa fans here. However, you once again have found a way to find cover for yourself. Only it’s not working.
At least have the guts to own what you say and stop hiding behind this absurd pretense of defending Rafa. He doesn’t need your help and would certainly respond in an entirely different manner. That’s just the way his family brought him up.
ignore all this and let’s be ready to comment on Rafa’s match! 🙂
Like I said, nadine is being typically disingenuous. She doesn’t have the conviction to stand by her own claims because she knows them to be false.
Dang it!!
Haha at least now I can do some non biased picks. I’ll redo my full tournament picks sometime soon.
The Lucky Loser won the first set.
Delpo’s wrist is playing up again.
Delpo has problems with his left wrist:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Cea1HyMWIAALxIt.jpg
The Lucky Loser won the match.
Too bad about Fed pulling out due to a stomach virus.
It’s troubling to hear that Delpo is having wrist problems.
Poor Delpo…looks like he will never be able to return to the top tier …his wrist is just not healing.
Pity fed had to pull out
@hawkeye, don’t bother. #DoubleStandardsAreEverywhere
All are equal before the law.
what are you talking about? :s get your lawyer ready then…lol
This:
[augusta08 MARCH 25, 2016 AT 5:58 PM]
https://tenngrand.com/2016/03/24/miami-r2-previews-predictions-federer-vs-del-potro-simon-vs-monaco/#comment-95814
Rafa’s lawyers should sue you for defamation of character for claiming that Rafa would make fed fans happy.
To be decided by voters:
[augusta08 MARCH 25, 2016 AT 10:11 PM]
https://tenngrand.com/2016/03/24/miami-r2-previews-predictions-federer-vs-del-potro-simon-vs-monaco/#comment-95845
Nobody clicks on your links.
Rafa should sue you for defamation of character for claiming that Rafa would make fed fans happy.
No arguments against self-esteem AT 2:13 PM: NOBODY.
Nonsensical posts like that are your best relatively speaking.
Haha Nole just barked at a fan. Love it.
Wah wah is being schooled by Kuznetsov.
#MirkasRight
Wah-Wah looking like a cooked lobster out there let’s be honest. He’s red as a beet out there wawrinka.
Wah-Wah tanking now.
The weather has been quite hot and humid in southern Florida right now. The tennis channel commies were talking about it. The humidity is the real culprit.
I was surprised to see that Stan lost this match. I know that he didn’t look that good in I/W either.
lol the word ‘wah’ means wonderful in my native language
Rafa falling into old habits playing horribly on countless break points.
Nine break points lost in the first game.
Telling.
Yes, that was tough to watch. Missed opportunities.
i JUST tuned in…did not know the match had started
three double faults in a row
Rafa breaks on a double fault.
Rafa was using the ice towel quotes bit on the changeover.
Another break chance. Okay, double fault gives Rafa the break!
Rafa was using the ice towel quite a bit! That is what I meant to say before autocorrect garbled it!
Rafa missing some wide open shots.