Former world number one Roger Federer of Switzerland has yet again proved his excellence and exuberance in Miami where he lifted the Miami Open title for the third time on Sunday. The victory brought even bigger joy to his fans across the globe as it came against his biggest rival Rafael Nadal of Spain. A straight-set victory further put the icing on the cake as the Swiss tennis legend recorded a 6-3 6-4 triumph over the Spaniard. However, it was not as comfortable as the score shows.
Federer vs Nadal
Whenever it is the Federer vs Nadal battle, things are always set to heat up gigantically.
The same was expected in Miami where Federer was looking to win his third title whereas Nadal was still searching for his first title. The Miami Open is one tournament that Rafael Nadal has never won in his glittering career. This time, Nadal looked good to challenge Federer to get himself off the mark in Miami and the first set lived up to the expectations. However, Federer soon found his touch and stamped his authority over his arch-foe in a grand fashion. The 18-time Grand Slam holder was in no mood to give it away and he continued his amazing form and the guile to add yet another title to his name.
Roger Federer has been on a roll ever since appearing in the first Grand Slam tournament of the year which he won in Australia in January.
Since the start of this season, Federer has defeated Nadal four times, which perhaps is the most commanding streak for him against the king of clay courts. Since his victory in the Australian Open, Roger Federer has won BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells and doubled up the fun with the Miami Open triumph to make his global fan base believe in his skills and art yet again.
On the other hand, Rafael Nadal looks completely out of sorts against Roger Federer as he is absolutely out of answers that the Swiss legend posts in their recent bilateral outings. Especially, Nadal’s worst record in Miami needs more than effort and skills to write a new page in the book of his success story. However, things might change in the coming months as the tennis world is heading towards the claycourt season which heavily favours the King of Clay from Spain.
Although, Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray have lifted their game on the clay courts but Rafael Nadal is still a power to reckon on clay, which makes the upcoming clay season all the most important and exciting.
A big game
Federer, who also defeated Tomas Berdych on his way to the final, was no short of classic shots to win the match and no shy of words to describe how he felt after winning the title in Miami. Talking to the presenter in the off-court rendezvous, Federer termed the last couple of weeks as fabulous. Talking about how the title match went, Federer stated, “It was totally key. He looked good from the get-go. He was playing big tennis, stepping in and doing all the right things. A bit more luck on his side and the wrong decisions by me at that moment and it could have turned very quickly.”
An ageing Federer pointed out after the match that he is going to take a two months break after the Miami Open title victory, which means Rafael Nadal will have one less hurdle to face in the upcoming tournaments.
However, the Federer-Nadal rivalry will further accentuate in late May when the second Grand Slam tournament of the year, i.e. French Open, will take place at the Roland Garros.
Rafael Nadal has a lot to think before his favourite season kicks off. He has not been able to lift a title this year and has lost three finals to-date, two of them against Roger Federer and one against Sam Querrey of the United States in Acapulco. However, one may feel he is getting closer to his best and the start of the clay season is what the doctor might order for the Spanish tennis king. Nadal’s next big test would be Monte Carlo where he is expected to finish at least among the top four.
