Federer marches on with Del Potro demolition job
Roger Federer took his 2017 record to 15 wins from 16 matches as he beat Juan Martin del Potro at the Miami Open yesterday.
The Swiss, 35, won 6-3, 6-4 in 55 minutes to reach the last 16, where he will face Spanish 14th seed Roberto Bautista Agut.
It was all too easy for Federer, with Del Potro unable to respond to the huge support he enjoyed in what is known as the South American slam.
Del Potro was again plagued by fitness issues. 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 – although he later explained that this was “because I was sweating too much”.
Earlier, former finalist Tomas Berdych powered into the fourth round, beating Gilles Muller 6-3, 6-4.
The 10th-seeded Czech won 76 per cent of his service points and converted two of his four break point chances to wrap up victory in 84 minutes, avenging the defeat he suffered to Muller in Tokyo last year.
The 31-year-old Berdych was runner-up at this ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament in 2010, losing out to Andy Roddick. He has also reached the semi-finals on three further occasions. The right-hander will face either Borna Coric or Adrian Mannarino.
In the women’s tournament, No 2 seed Karolina Pliskova held off a late charge from compatriot Barbora Strycova 6-1, 6-4 to advance to the quarter finals
Leading 6-1, 5-2 in the fourthround match, Pliskova was
0 Roger Federer was in imperious form as he beat Juan Martin del Potro in two sets in Miami yesterday.
0 Andy Murray: Rest cure. forced to dig deep to see off Strycova in straight sets to move into the last eight in Miami for the second time in her career. The World No 3 previously reached the quarter-final stage in 2015.
“Everything was fine, going well, until 6-1, 5-2,” Pliskova told WTA Insider after the match. “She played some good games on her side. I was happy to close it because the end was tricky – the end was a little bit shaky, so I was just happy to go through.”
Meanwhile, Andy Murray’s elbow injury is set to keep him out of the Davis Cup quarterfinal tie with France next week, according to his brother, Jamie.
The world No 1 was forced to withdraw from the Miami Open after suffering the injury practising for the event and returned to Britain last week where a scan revealed the damage.
Jamie revealed Andy has torn part of his right elbow and his participation in the clash in Rouen, which begins a week on Friday, now appears unlikely.
Jamie said: “It’s some sort of tear in his elbow, so he needs to rest.
“He said he can do everything except serve and he told me that rest was all he had to do. I am not planning that he is going be there [against France] but, if he is, then obviously that is great for the team and we’ll see what happens.
“But the most important thing for him is just to get healthy because he has had a few issues now. He has had shingles, he has had his elbow, he was sick here as well for two or three days after he pulled out of the tournament.
“I think he just needs to get a bit settled and get a good crack at it over the next three months because there are a lot of big tournaments to play.” Las Vegas will be home to an NFL franchise after the league’s 32 owners approved the relocation of the Oakland Raiders.
One of the United States’ most colourful and historic teams will become the first to play in Sin City, an area previously viewed somewhat dimly by the NFL’S hierarchy due to its association with gambling.
The Raiders will stay in Oakland, where they share a stadium with baseball team the Athletics, in 2017 and 2018 before relocating.
It is not the first time the Raiders have upped sticks, they did so in going from Oakland to Los Angeles in 1982 before returning 13 years later under Al Davis’s ownership, but they are breaking new ground in bringing the NFL to Nevada.
The city’s attraction for the Raiders is the promise of a state-of-the-art new stadium, with $750 million (£609 million) in public money pledged towards its construction.
Owner Mark Davis has been seeking an upgraded home for his team and the Raiders had tried to return to LA just two years ago. He said: “My father always said, ‘The greatness of the Raiders is in its future’.
“The opportunity to build a world-class stadium in the entertainment capital of the world is a significant step toward achieving that greatness.”
How the disgruntled locals they are leaving behind in Oakland will treat them for the next two years remains to be seen – though Davis has promised to refund seasonticket deposits this term.