Roger Federer vs. Juan Martin Del Potro: Score, Reaction from 2017 Miami Open
Roger Federer continued his excellent season on Monday, knocking off Juan Martin Del Potro in straight sets, 6-3, 6-4 in round-of-32 play at the Miami Open.
The win didn't come without its difficulties, namely in the first set, when Federer had to save four break points. But Federer relied on a strong serve (seven aces, 83 percent of first-serve points won) and an unbreakable defense (5-for-5 in break points saved) to get past Del Potro.
Del Potro, to his credit, had the highlight of the opening set, per Tennis TV:
But Federer ultimately took the set:
From there, Federer needed just one break in the second set to secure his win:
To say that Federer is on fire at the moment is probably an understatement. All he's done thus far this year is win the Australian Open and BNP Paribas Open, beating Stan Wawrinka and Rafael Nadal twice each in the process. The fact that he's done that at the age of 35 makes it all the more unbelievable.
As Christopher Clarey of the New York Times noted, everyone has been surprised by his level of play:
At this point, he's just making it look easy, as Jose Morgado of the Diario Record suggested:
Had Federer retired before this season, he would have gone down in history as the greatest men's singles player in history. Instead, he's putting together another amazing chapter in an already dense book of accomplishments. And if he goes on to win the Miami Open it will be hard to bet against him in the forthcoming Grand Slams.
Up next for Federer in Miami is a matchup against Roberto Bautista Agut in the round of 16.
Postmatch Reaction
After the match, Federer was pleased with his performance.
"I feel like I earned it more," he told the Associated Press (via ESPN). "I was more the aggressor. It was more my racket, and I like it that way."
He also previewed his match against Bautista Agut, per Simon Briggs of the Telegraph:
"I respect Bautista Agut a lot. I was watching his match against [Sam] Querrey a lot today, and he competes so well, plays a ton of tournaments and he’s really just match-tough. He might be hurt, he was taping his feet, I don’t know what he was doing but I’m sure he was in pain. But he found a way to get it done in the end. I have a really good record against Roberto, and I hope I can use my variation to make him feel uncomfortable.
"
And with a match on Tuesday, Federer is hoping he'll hold up physically.
"It's not something I'm used to, actually playing back-to-back days," he said. "I hope my body's going to be fine."
Given the way Federer is playing thus far this season, about the only chance his opponent's have at the moment is Federer's body betraying him. Del Potro, for instance, didn't think he played poorly against Federer.
"I did my best," he told the AP. "He played well in the break-point moments and I think that was the only difference in the match."
All stats via ATPWorldTour.com unless otherwise noted.
