Roger Federer and Nick Kyrgios will be going head-t0-head for the second time in their careers when they collide in the semifinals of the Miami Open on Friday night.
Kyrgios won their only previous encounter 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 7-6(12) on the clay courts of Madrid in 2015, where he saved two match points before converting his sixth opportunity in the final-set tiebreaker. They were supposed to face each other again at the Indian Wells Masters earlier this month, but the 21-year-old withdrew prior to a quarterfinal clash due to illness.
Nothing has slowed Kyrgios down in Miami, where has advanced to the final four with victories over Damir Dzumhur (6-4, 6-3), Ivo Karlovic (in a third-set tiebreaker), David Goffin (7-6(5), 6-3), and Alexander Zverev (6-4, 6-7(9), 6-3). The world No. 16 is now 14-3 this season–including 7-0 in his last seven matches–and is through to his third semifinal.
Of course, no one has been better than Federer in 2017. The 35-year-old Swiss boasts a 17-1 record with titles at the Australian Open and in Indian Wells, and he is back up to sixth in the rankings and could find himself at No. 4 following this fortnight. Federer has not been entirely dominant in Miami, but battled into the semis by defeating Frances Tiafoe, Juan Martin Del Potro, Roberto Bautista Agut, and Tomas Berdych. After needing a pair of tiebreakers to get past Bautista Agut in the fourth round, the 18-time major champion fought off two match points to beat Berdych 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(6) on Thursday night.
“Obviously he’s the greatest player of all time,” Kyrgios said of his upcoming opponent. “But the way that he takes time away from players–that’s his strength. He likes to play his pace of tennis. He likes to take away time and play aggressive. He obviously like to play really aggressive on return (and) likes to get through his service games very quick…. I know what’s going to be coming.”
“They like the big stage,” Federer responded when asked about Kyrgios and Zverev before Thursday’s second quarterfinal had taken place. “Both have a big serve. Both (have a) real nice backhand, and the belief–so that makes them just very tough to play in any given match.”
Kyrgios certainly has the belief even against the best players in the world. In addition to his 1-0 mark against Federer, the mercurial Aussie is 2-0 at Novak Djokovic’s expense and an even 1-1 against Rafael Nadal.
Moreover, Kyrgios thrives on the big stage–and the big stage is exactly what he has been given in Miami. He has already played three night matches; one on the Grandstand (vs. Dzumhur) before twice enjoying night-session treatment in the stadium (vs. Goffin and vs. Zverev). Federer, who displayed signs of mortality against Bautista Agut and Berdych), has played day matches throughout the entire tournament up to this point. The No. 4 seed’s relative struggles in his last two outings and the fact that he has not yet played in these exact conditions have to be considered factors heading into Friday.
Nick at night equals upset alert.
Pick: Kyrgios in 3
[polldaddy poll=9712145]
who ya got?
Agreed. Kygrios in three if he doesn’t withdraw due to injury. This guy enjoys playing the big boys at the big stages. Fed did look vulnerable vs Berdych, and Berdych should have served better to win that MP in the TB to win the match. If Kygrios gets to MP against Fed, I don’t think he will let it slip away.
Fed in three. This match is gonna be awesome. Many holds predicted lol.
Kyrgios sure can beat Fed. He can beat anyone if he decides to play. However, as I said before, Nick has too much respect for Maestro, he will not want to look imperious as he usually does, as he does against Rafa for instance. Since withdrawing is out of question, he may as well just come out looking flat and uninterested. I really hope Nick proves me wrong this time and comes out strong and focused, but…”A burnt child dreads the fire”…so many times now I believed in Nick and he utterly disappointed me with his attitude and lack of dedication…don’t think it will be any different this time again…
Also, don’t think Fed being tired would be an issue. There won’t be long points in this match, exactly as Fed would preferred…
Fed in 3
Rog in 2 or 3…I think nick might be fatigue from today’s match and his level will drop a little bit..
nick being fatigued? what about federer being fatigued?
both. Moreso Fed.
Fed has played well only against Delpo and he was the strongest opponent. Against weaker opponent he displayed a lackluster performance. With semi and final he would be back to his best and will go on to win the title.
Fed in 2 tight sets
Delpo the strongest opponent?? Delpo was so one dimensional in their match, hitting CC BH exchanges with Fed almost the whole match!
Watch how Agut played against Fed, rushed Fed and Fed had to scramble to cover his FH and many times he’s late to get to the ball. Agut was smart enough to move Fed from left to right and vice versa, attacking Fed’s FH to score points, even when Agut doesn’t have Delpo’s big weapons.
Even ‘Bird brain’ Berdy had done better than Delpo! It’s a pity that Delpo hadn’t the belief to beat the big boys yet, despite his big weapons, he was disappointing vs Djoko too.
Delpo was frustrating to watch. I really like him but sometimes he can annoy you because of he just refuses to go DTL with his backhand. I understand the wrist issues but there is no reason for not going DTL at all. His backhand becomes a safe haven for good players. His slices are not bad but not that great either so backhand can really limit his game even though it’s a consistent shot.
Currently if Agut and Delpo meet each other than most probably Delpo might win even though Agut has defeated him in the past.
Agut really has no weapon to trouble top players and he would like to grind and that works with lower ranked players but not against the Big 4
Agut vs Delpo has nothing to do with Agut vs Fed and Delpo vs Fed.
And, nobody here is saying Agut is superior to Delpo! Agut doesn’t quite have any weapons. He is just solid and consistent from the baseline. What we are talking about is that he tried to vary the patterns of play more and changed directions of his shots more smartly. Delpo never did that. His limited game will be good enough to beat most but not the big 4 perhaps.
When he was beating big 4 in Olympics, he was actually going for some backhands DTL. But at that time, his forehand was just insane and everything else didn’t matter as much.
Currently? Not necessary as Delpo hasn’t get back to his best level yet.
Agut’s problem, other than his ‘no weapon’, is his non belief that he could beat a top player. I’ve seen it many times about him, it’s typical of him, he had Raonic on the rope at AO this year, but let the set slipped away. He could’ve won two sets and then Raonic would have to go five sets to beat him.
He’s finitely not of the caliber to beat the top guys, he lacks the tennis acumen to seize the opportunity and plays the right shot when he has his opponent on the rope; a few right shots at the right time and he could’ve won a set against Fed I feel, but he’s just not good enough to do it.
Sadly, I don’t think he ever can get back to his best for obvious reasons.
Kyrgios in 3 with two tb sets
Kyrgios in 3, agree
One problem with Kyrgios is that he has the tendency to drop mid-court, short balls. They are basically floaters. He does that especially with his backhand when he just ‘pushes’ the ball with his backhand. You CANNOT get away with those against Federer! He will swallow them in a flash! He must avoid doing that often.
Having said that, Kyrgios has the necessary weapons to take Fed down here. If he can serve really well (which I think he will) and stay very focused and determined, he can surely get his second win over Roger.
Kyrgios is not fearful of the big 4.
VR,surely that fence must be uncomfortable for you to sit on, no?
Are you taking New No Nonsense Nick?
#4NisTheNew4K
lol. This is tough to call and depends on how Nick feels on the day. As far as prediction goes, I’ll say Fed in 3.
Kyrgios in 3. He’s too consistent from the back and has the serve advantage. Plus he believes he should win.
Withdrawing from their previous match in IW is a worry.
he’ll be more motivated after withdrawing from that one
Ride the wave.
#GOAT2.0 in. 2.0.
Federer is now mentally tired but he needs to keep it up for two more matches. Kyrgios is a dangerous one and has nothing lose against the great one. Here is the next article from a series of articles on roger, rafa, novak and andy and this one analyzes their mindsets. It’s an interesting read and the writer seems to know his/her tennis: http://www.138mph.com/decoding-the-big-three-murray-part-iii/
Maybe it is “Nick at Night”, but it’s still Fed…..so GOAT in straight!
Yup, don’t know why you’d pick against a guy who’s 17-1 and has lost just one set out of his last 19.
Normally I’d give Nick a 40-50% chance in this one because he’s mentally very confident and plays the big points well but looks like he tweaked his knee last night. He also treats #GOAT2.0 with waaaay too much respect which will give #GOAT2.0 a mental advantage.
In my eyes this is the match of the YEAR….very excited I just cant go against so I’ll stick with my prediction of a Roger and Nadal final. Roger in 3 CLOSE sets
I definitely felt like Fed had the advantage before their Indian Wells match was “cancelled”. But now, for this match, I give Kyrgios the edge. I’m not even picking a winner, though. Could go either way.
Both were probably a little bit fresher in Indian Wells (until of course Nick got food poisoning) but this shapes as a really exciting match. Kyrgios generally gets psyched up for the big names, in fact I read the other day that he’s one of only two players have beaten the big three on their first attempts, the other being his Davis Cup coach, Hewitt. If Nick’s focussed, and of course that’s usually the biggest ‘if’ with him, he can win this. Naturally he’ll rely on the serve, but the baseline rallies will be interesting. Will he play super-aggressive and try and go for the lines, or is he content to engage in the longer rallies with Federer? If it’s the former and he’s in the zone, the game could be on his strings, but if he’s hot and cold then that strategy might just play into Fed’s preference for fast tennis. If it’s the latter, he could potentially wear Fed down by running him around side to side. On the other hand, Fed’s generally more adept at constructing the points, and he might be able to outmaneuver Kyrgios this way if Nick isn’t careful.
Fed in 3
I think Kyrgios has a real chance to get the upset here. I don’t know that I but into th S idea that he will have too much respect for Fed not to beat him. The idea is to win and I would think Kyrgios would have even more motivation because it’s Fed. It’s a big prize.
I don’t know about the knee. If he plays then we have to assume it’s okay. I think Fed was fortunate to get past Berdy. He did not look that great at times in the match. It’s just that Berdy couldn’t get it done when it mattered.
I think it could go either way. Fed has the experience and the confidence. Kyrgios has the outrageous talent and explosive shots to get it done. Kyrgios will need to remain focused and not get distracted. He let it happen to him at times against Zverev, but still kept it together to get the win.
This is a close one and tough to pick. But I think that Kyrgios can get the win in 3 sets.
I think that if Federer continues to serve a relatively low percentage of first serves in like he has been in Miami, he will really struggle against Nick. If Nick gets into a groove of crushing return-winners off of Fed’s 2nd serve, it will not be good for Fed… If Fed can serve really well, he can at least get it to tiebreaks and then try to up his game in the tb’s. I don’t realistically see how Fed can win if he serves under 70%… Obviously anything can happen in a tennis match, but he will struggle a lot if he can’t get 70%+ first serves in, I believe.
Keep your mind focused and sharp like a laser beam, stay confident, be strong and fight bravely, Nicky!
https://tinyurl.com/lnum5oz
(((Jeff Sackmann))) @tennisabstract 42m42 minutes ago
Last Fed loss in the match after a third-set TB win: 2006 Rome Masters, d. Nalbandian in SF, l. to Nadal (in 5th set TB) in F.
(excluding the 2014 WTF: beat Stan in SF in 3rd-set TB, withdrew from final)
#CryBaby
#MirkasRightLOL