The final two quarter-finals at the Miami Masters featured a pair of old adversaries and a pair of new ones.
Later, it would be the second meeting in as many weeks between the No12 seed, 21-year-old Nick Kyrgios, and No16 seed, 19-year-old Alexander Zverev. But first came No4 seed, two-time champion, the 35-year-old Roger Federer against a man he had played 23 times, No10 seed and former Miami finalist, 31-year-old Tomas Berdych.
Federer’s return from a six-month injury hiatus, rejuvenated and immediately winning his 18th Grand Slam in Australia and 90th career title in Indian Wells, had become the headline story of the men’s tour. Now he had extended his match-winning season to 16-1 to reach his 10th Miami quarter-final. What had seemed the most improbable prospect at the beginning of March, that the veteran could make a play for the notoriously tough “sunshine double” more than a decade after doing it in 2006, was now entirely possible.
Yet in Berdych, Federer took on a man who he had beaten many times—and most recently in devastating style at the Australian Open—but who had denied the Swiss at some of his most significant events.
The first was at the Athens Olympics 13 years ago. In 2010, he halted Federer’s seven-straight-finals run at Wimbledon, and the next year stopped him at his most successful Masters tournament, Cincinnati. In 2012, the Czech delivered Federer’s earliest exit at the US Open in eight years, beating the Swiss in the quarter-finals, and followed it in early 2013 by halting the seven-time champion in the place he has made his second home, Dubai.
There was one other victory for Berdych among his six over Federer: at their only meeting in Miami in 2010. What is more, Berdych had saved a match point as they edged towards three hours through a final-set tie-break, to win, 4-6, 7-6(3), 7-6(6). They had each won 119 points, but it was the Czech who went on to reach the final.
Few expected such a close contest this time around, but that is precisely what they got.
It did not look too promising for Berdych in the first set: Federer, as has been his game plan since January, was on the front foot from the start, even on Berdych’s opening serve. He broke, saved an immediate break-back point with an ace, and led 2-0.
Berdych’s serve pepped up for a couple of love holds as he cranked up the speed to 135mph, but it was till Federer who drew the gasps with some deft, crafty touches around the net. He broke Berdych again in the seventh game with an audacious spinning drop winner, and went on to seal the set, 6-2, after just 26 minutes, unleashing a second-serve ace in the process.
This, then, had the look of that uneven contest in Melbourne, but things were about to change. Federer afterwards admitted that some tiredness began to creep into his legs as the match went on. He saved a break point in the second game, but Berdych was increasingly on the offensive, taking Federer’s serve early, and hitting clean and penetrating ground strokes. The Swiss serve came under pressure again in the eighth game, and two forehand errors gave the Czech his breakthrough. He aced at 136mph, and came off the better in a thrilling rally to hold for the set, 6-3.
However, when Federer upped the attack to break in the sixth game, he seemed again to have control, despite some fine, aggressive play from Berdych. However, the Swiss served for the match at 5-3, only to play a truly bizarre game. He afterwards said that he had lost sight of the ball on Berdych’s first return: It flew by unchallenged. Federer then double faulted, and finally conceded a break to love with a shank.
The Czech served to level, again faced defeat as Federer worked a break point for the match, but Berdych pummelled a backhand winner and held. It was then Federer’s turn to look vulnerable on serve, 15-30 down via a double fault, but two aces saved the day, and a love hold from Berdych took it to a tie-break.
This was, then, a near replay of that 2010 meeting, and Berdych looked more than ready to grab the win again: He snatched the first point against serve with a forehand winner. Federer gave up a 2-1 lead with a double fault, then aced—and it would seesaw to 4-4 before Berdych got another lead courtesy of a Federer error. The Czech fired a backhand winner for two match points, 6-4, but now he made the error, and two clutch Swiss serves later brought up another Federer match point, and a tight Berdych double faulted the match away, 7-6(6).
These two had hit 37 winners apiece, considerably more than their error count, and Berdych both out-volleyed Federer and ended with two more points—but he could not take the vital one. And a weary Federer afterwards conceded:
“I feel like I got lucky today, maybe very lucky… I think [Tomas] had a game plan to come out super aggressive… It was impressive!”
How much, though, will Federer have left after back-to-back two-hour matches, especially against the young, enthusiastic legs and outstanding serving of Kyrgios?
For he it was who survived another thriller between the young rivals who are also good friends, and that spirit of mutual respect permeated a delightful encounter.
The Australian had made things look easy against Zverev in Indian Wells, and did the same in the first set here, too. Not that Zverev was playing poorly, but Kyrgios has the kind of easy power, variety of shot, and all-court flair to suddenly grab control. That is what happened in the ninth game, first with a blistering forehand for break point, then a backhand down the line for another chance, and in the blink of an eye, he had broken and served out the set with ease, 6-4.
But Zverev had proved his resilience and strength already this week by coming back from a set down against both John Isner and the top seed Stan Wawrinka in impressive style. He showed the same focus and fitness against Kyrgios, though the Australian continued to wow the crowds with some show-stopping shots: one, a cross-court winning tweener, brought the house down.
However, Zverev’s court coverage, and willingness to finish at the net, also captured the crowd, and when he saved three match points to grab the tie-break, 7-6(9), Miami was again on its feet.
The Australian, however, came back in the third with an early break, and although Zverev would save two more match points at the net, Kyrgios’s serve would not be denied and he closed it out, 6-3, after more than two and a half hours.
Kyrgios had to forego his showdown with Federer in Indian Wells due to a stomach virus, so he will undoubtedly relish his chance in Miami, especially as he won their only previous match in dramatic style and three tie-breaks, the last going 7-6(12), in Madrid in 2015. And the young Aussie has gone on to prove his big-game mentality by notching up a 4-6 record against the ‘big four’, most recently beating Novak Djokovic in back-to-back tournaments before Miami.
So only the best from the Swiss will do if he is to reach the final for the first time since he won in 2006. And after 17 wins, that may just be a step too far.