We take a look at selected round of 16 fixtures from the ATP Tours Masters 1000 Series taking place at Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens on the 27th of March 2019.
ATP Tour 2019 | Masters 1000 Series
Miami Open | Hard Rock Stadium, Miami
Selected Round of 16 Matches | 27 March 2019
Roger Federer (4) 3/10 vs Danil Medvedev (13) 23/10
Just how much longer will we be graced with Roger Federer’s graceful presence is anyone’s guess, but he is certainly not disappearing into the ether without a fight. Federer’s quest for a fourth Miami title got off to a jittery start against the fairly unheralded Albot. Much like Djokovic against Delbonis, he seemed to struggle with the relative slowness of the courts from the off. He came through that match and looked far more accomplished against the plucky Filip Krajinovic. Federer will be keen to capture this title after that unexpected defeat to Dominic Thiem in Indian Wells. He has already captured the Dubai title this year and is a perpetual factor in these events. But he doesn’t quite carry that aura of invincibility that defined his younger years. He tends to go through ebbs more regularly and may still need some time to acclimatize to this arena.
Russian youngster Danil Medvedev has fast emerged as one of the hottest young prospects on the men’s tour. Back-to-back titles at the Winston-Salem Open and Japan Open last season highlighted his burgeoning power on the hardcourts. He has only further enhanced that reputation this year with a slew of excellent results. He tasted victory at the Sofia Open while he lost to Kei Nishikori in the Brisbane Final. The semi-final in Rotterdam was also a notable result. Medvedev is a powerful baseliner who will prove a formidable foe for Federer at this stage. He just outlasted the huge serving Opelka and should find Federer’s service barrage quaint by comparison. He easily dispatched of Adrian Mannarino in his opening match and seems to be building a head of speed going into this match.
The Swiss metronome unsurprisingly leads the head-to-head 2-0. Both of those results came last season. One of those was a comfortable semi-final victory for Federer at his beloved Swiss Indoors coronation ceremony. The other match was a gruelling three-set thriller in Shanghai. I think that Medvedev is great value for a surprise here, especially when you look at Federer’s advancing age. Federer has endured a physically taxing few weeks during the ‘Sunshine Double’ and may find Medvedev’s consistent groundstrokes treacherous.
Stefanos Tsitsipas (8) 15/20 vs Denis Shapovalov (20) 1/1
Now, this promises to be an exhilarating clash between two of the poster boys of the NextGen throng. Greek star Tsitsipas already has a cult following, with the Bjorg hair only matched by Bjorg-like grace on court. He rose to prominence last season with a sensational series of results on all surfaces. He has carried that form into 2019. Including a critical victory over Roger Federer at Melbourne. That semi-final run really took him to the next level. He won the Open 13 this year and also reached the final in Dubai. He will be feeling desperately disappointed following an extremely sub-par showing at Indian Wells. His feline movement and deceptive power reminds me a great deal of Roger Federer and he looks set for a tremendous 2019.
Denis Shapovalov is slightly less finesse and more abrasion. The iconic backwards cap look he sports almost distils his game. He is a brash on-court presence with a booming serve. He has the capacity to hit an array of winners but tends to spray a liberal dose of rubbish into the bargain. So this match almost represents a contrast in styles that should be terrific to watch. Shapovalov has been serene thus far, especially in dispensing with the dangerous Andrey Rublev in straight sets. He shone at Indian Wells for an instant, beating Marin Cilic in the process. Consistency is the buzz word for the young Canadian. In order for him to take the Tsitsipas step, he needs to find a way to minimize that unforced errors count and construct more meaningful points.
This will be their third meeting, with each player sporting a win thus far. The results make for interesting reading. Tsitsipas won in straight sets on clay while Shapovalov returned the favour at Melbourne last season. Clearly, Shapovalov will find it extremely hard to take down Tsitsipas on the clay. But he will fancy his chances on this surface, in this arena.
