Miami Open Masters 2019: Early Scores and Results from Wednesday
March 27, 2019
Roger Federer eased into the quarter-finals of the 2019 Miami Open Masters on Wednesday, with Simona Halep reaching the last four in the WTA bracket.
Federer saw off Daniil Medvedev in straight sets at Hard Rock Stadium after Halep had beaten Qiang Wang. While Federer knows he will face Kevin Anderson in the last four, Halep is left waiting on the winner of Karolina Pliskova's match with Marketa Vondrousova.
Meanwhile, defending champion John Isner is through to the last four after surviving tiebreaks in both sets against Novak Djokovic's conqueror Roberto Bautista Agut.
Like Halep, Isner will wait on the winner between Felix Auger-Aliassime and Borna Coric later in the day.
Wednesday's Early Scores
Men's Singles
- (4) Roger Federer bt. (13) Daniil Medvedev: 6-4, 6-2
- (7) John Isner bt. (22) Roberto Bautista Agut: 7-6(1), 7-6(5)
Women's Singles
- (2) Simona Halep bt. (18) Qiang Wang: 6-4, 7-5
All results, including the later matches, per the tournament's official website.
Federer was unerring on serve from the off against an overwhelmed Medvedev, as the two finally got their fourth-round match underway after rain delays.
The Russian tried to stay in touch in each set, but he couldn't hold serve as well. Federer helped himself to breaks at key moments, including twice in the second set.
It was the second of those breaks when Federer held a 4-2 advantage in the set, that positioned the 37-year-old to lean on his serve once again for yet another commanding victory.
Federer can expect a tougher time against Anderson on Thursday.
He's already aware of the challenge the South African who beat him in the quarter-final at Wimbledon in 2018 will pose, per Mikael McKenzie of the Daily Express: "If you beat me at Wimbledon, you’ve got my attention. Kevin is a great player, he's got one of great serves in the game at the moment. In America on hard courts, that's his cup of tea, but I'm playing well and I hope I can bother him."
Isner struggled to get on track early on against Agut, who played with the confidence accrued from seeing off Djokovic on Tuesday. However, the Spaniard's swagger steadily diminished as the opening set inched toward a tiebreak.
It was won by Isner, who was happy to showcase both sides of his game. The American hammered Agut with typical power, while also mixing in a few deft shots at the right times:
Down 3-0 in the tiebreak at the end of the second set, Isner also proved his resolve by battling back to eventually scrape through. In the process, the 33-year-old kept up his flawless run of not dropping a set at this year's tournament.
Earlier, Halep didn't have things all her own way, despite the potential world No. 1 opening up a big lead in the first set. The script was flipped for the second set as Wang built a four-game advantage.
It was time for Halep to show some resolve. She duly met the challenge by reeling off six wins to move one step closer to the final.
A ferocious backhand proved one of Halep's favourite shots as she gradually weakened her opponents' resolve.
Reaching the final would see Halep regain top spot in the WTA rankings. It already seems like an inevitability for a player close to peak form.