It’s Federer and Konta in Miami

MIAMI: Roger Federer overcame long-term rival Rafael Nadal to win the Miami Open for the third time yesterday and continue his remarkable start to the season.

After a pulsating semi-fnal win over Nick Kyrgios, which lasted more than three hours, the 35-year-old Federer built on January’s Australian Open win and this month’s Indian Wells success with a convincing 6-3 6-4 win over Nadal.

The pair shared 10 break points in the opening set, with Federer the only man to take one to crucially move 5-3 up.

He exuded control throughout, breaking at 4-4 in the second and serving out.

Meanwhile, late-blooming ohanna Konta won the biggest title of her career when she beat Caroline Wozniacki 6-4 6-3 in the women’s final.

British 10th seed Konta used an aggressive game plan to overcome Danish 12th seed Wozniacki on the Crandon Park hardcourt.

Konta stuck to her hard-hit- ting tactics, despite a few hiccups, before clinching victory with a perfectly-weighted lob that landed on the baseline for her second title of the year, after winning in Sydney in January.

“I couldn’t believe it was over because I was so focused, just trying on every single point,” Konta, who hit 33 winners, said.

“Having opportunities like these to almost get a pat on the back for all that hard work is very rewarding.” - Reuters