Roger Federer cruises past Juan Martin del Potro to reach fourth round
From the Miami Open’s perspective, the only disappointing thing about Roger Federer’s victory over Juan Martin del Potro on Monday was that it came so early in the week. The atmosphere on a full-tooverflowing Stadium Court resembled the nearby Ultra dance-music festival, complete with footballstyle chants, flags and banners. In excitement level, if not necessarily quality of tennis, this would have made a worthy final.
Instead, it turned into a thirdround stroll for Federer, who was as swift and clinical as we have seen him all season as he dispatched del Potro by a 6-3, 6-4 scoreline. The job was done in 82 minutes, and the player of the season to date will now face Roberto Bautista Agut in the last 16.
If Federer’s status as the world’s favourite sportsman has only been reinforced by his late-career blossoming, then Del Potro is an even bigger name here, at what has been described as the South American slam. His Davis Cup captain, Daniel Orsanic, was at courtside on Monday to support the man who spearheaded Argentina’s run to the Davis Cup title last year.
But fitness issues continue to rob Del Potro of his best chances against the very elite. Early in the second set, he called the trainer on to apply tape to both his wrists – the suspect joints that have required four operations between them.
Meanwhile, how much unluckier can the women’s tour get? Once Garbine Muguruza had withdrawn from the Miami Open on Monday, suffering a bout of gastric illness during her match, Angelique Kerber was left as the only player in the draw to win a major title in the last five years.
For the most part, this situation was not the result of adverse results, but of a wide range of unpredictable factors. The nastiest of them was surely the stabbing of Petra Kvitova at her home in Prostejov just before Christmas. The happiest was the arrival of a firstborn child for Victoria Azarenka. And the most controversial was Maria Sharapova’s doping ban.
Muguruza’s travails over the ten months since she won the French Open – a period in which she has failed to reach another final - are less quirky, but equally disappointing. But she seemed to be building up nicely here with a couple of hard-fought three-set wins. On Monday, she knew she was in for another tester against Caroline Wozniacki, the only woman at the top end of the sport who has run a marathon.
As the match clock moved past the hour mark, though, it was clear that Muguruza’s energy levels were failing her. She lost the tiebreak 7-1 and then simply packed her bags and left.