Miami Open Masters 2017: Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal Advance to Final on Sunday
Two of tennis' biggest stars advanced to a championship showdown Friday with semifinal victories at the 2017 Miami Open.
Rafael Nadal handled Fabio Fognini in straight sets, 6-1, 7-5, and Roger Federer beat Nick Kyrgios in a dramatic three-set match, 7-6 (9), 6-7 (9), 7-6 (5). Federer and Nadal will now play each other for the 37th time in their illustrious careers, and this time the Miami Open championship will be hanging in the balance.
The women's singles tournament was on pause Friday, but Johanna Konta and Caroline Wozniacki will square off in the title match.
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With that in mind, here is a look at Friday's results, as well as a championship schedule for the men and women.
Friday Results
| Rafael Nadal vs. Fabio Fognini | 6-1, 7-5 (Nadal) |
| Roger Federer vs. Nick Kyrgios | 7-6 (9), 6-7 (9), 7-6 (5) (Federer) |
Nadal has made a habit of reaching the Miami Open final throughout his career. He clinched a spot in his fifth with his win over Fognini.
The Spaniard cruised through the first set but needed a late break to prevail in the second. Nadal was dominant with his serve and didn't allow Fognini a single break point while winning 83 percent of his first-service points, per the ATP World Tour's official website.
"My serve worked well," Nadal said, per the ATP World Tour's official website. "I think I didn't face a break point during the whole match, so that is something that I am very happy with. That gives you calm when you have opportunities on the return and you don't convert."
As for Federer, he needed three tiebreaks to advance past Kyrgios.
The tennis was only part of the story, as the crowd backed Federer throughout the match to the point it became a distraction. Kyrgios yelled at the fans multiple times, and the official had to stop play to remind them to be silent during action and show respect to both players.
Kyrgios took out his frustration on his racket after the loss, as Tennis TV highlighted:
It is a testament to Federer's mental and physical stamina that he prevailed in the three-plus hour match. Kyrgios earned just two break points against the Swiss star's serve, per the ATP Tour's official website, and couldn't come through against the 18-time major winner in the decisive tiebreak.
Finals Schedule
| Saturday, April 1 | Johanna Konta vs. Caroline Wozniacki | 1 p.m. |
| Sunday, April 2 | Roger Federer vs. Rafael Nadal | 1 p.m. |
While this will be Nadal's fifth career final at the Miami Open, he has never won the championship. He lost to Federer in the 2005 final, Nikolay Davydenko in the 2008 final and Novak Djokovic in the 2011 and 2014 final.
Federer won the Miami Open in 2005 and 2006.
It is hard to draw any conclusions from that long ago, but the Swiss star is riding a three-match winning streak against Nadal, including this year's Australian Open final.
Nadal is 23-13 overall against Federer, but his last win came in 2014. Federer is playing very well this year and already has titles at the Australian Open and BNP Paribas Open.
Considering Federer has handled Nadal in their recent showdowns, the prediction here is he will prevail against Nadal.
As for the women, Konta and Wozniacki have just one career matchup, but it came this year when Konta won at the Australian Open in the round of 32 with relative ease, 6-3, 6-1.
Wozniacki lost in a final twice this year already in the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships and Qatar Total Open, while Konta won the Sydney International title.
It is impossible to ignore her straightforward victory over Wozniacki in their recent matchup when projecting Saturday's result.
Predicted champions: Federer and Konta
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