Roger Federer Breezes by Kyle Edmund; Advances to Quarterfinals at Indian Wells
March 13, 2019
Roger Federer is headed to the quarterfinals at Indian Wells.
The No. 4 seed had no trouble blowing past No. 22 Kyle Edmund on Wednesday, earning a 6-1, 6-4 victory to advance in their round-of-16 matchup.
Federer will move on to play Hubert Hurkacz, who upset Denis Shapovalov to reach his first ATP Masters 1000 quarterfinal. Hurkacz and Federer have never gone head-to-head.
The 22-year-old made a surprise run through his draw that also included Lucas Pouille and Kei Nishikori.
Searching for his sixth championship at Indian Wells, Federer has looked stronger with each passing match. He was dominant on first serves throughout, hitting six aces and winning 34 of his 43 first-serve points. Edmund pushed him to seven break points, but Federer saved each one.
"I think I'm feeling good. It's a big difference to the beginning of the tournament in Dubai. ... I'm not overly panicky when big moments come about in the match. I've got clarity and that always comes when you're playing enough tennis," Federer told reporters coming into the match.
"Plus I've no pain in the body, I'm very happy where I am right now."
Like Hurkacz, Edmund was playing in his first career match against a living legend and had some level of jitters. Federer took the first set in an absolute romp, with Edmund unable to find any accuracy with his serve and struggling with ball placement. Edmund finished the match with three double-faults and won just 14 of his 24 first-serve chances.
The Brit came into Indian Wells with momentum after taking home the Challenger event at the court. He got a bit of a lucky draw before Wednesday's match after Fabio Fognini lost his second-round matchup to qualifier Radu Albot.
Should Federer get by Hurkacz, he could be in store for a semifinals matchup with Rafael Nadal. The second-seeded Spaniard got past Filip Krajinovic in straight sets in his round-of-16 matchup and will face either Karen Khachanov or John Isner in the quarters.
Federer and Nadal have not played one another since the 2017 Shanghai Masters final.