Federer Fends Off Upset • As Plenty Of Other Seeds Take A Tumble In Miami Tennis 2019

Roger Federer of Switzerland in action against Radu Albot of Moldova during their match at the Miami Open tennis tournament in Miami, Florida, USA, 23 March 2019. EPA-EFE/RHONA WISE

 

 

By Ricky Dimon

 

The Miami Open was already without Rafael Nadal and Juan Martin Del Potro before it started. On Saturday it lost Serena Williams, Naomi Osaka, and Alexander Zverev, among others. Roger Federer almost joined them on the sidelines.

 

But “almost” beating Federer is a lot different from actually doing it, and Radu Albert learned that the hard way as second-round action at 2019’s first Masters 1000 tournament got started. The 37-year-old just barely overcame slow start to defeat Albot 4-6, 7-5, 6-3.

 

“Margins are slim,” he assured. “Then you’re down. When you’re down, you got to play differently. At the end it’s just about finding a way. These are the matches that are so key during the year for any player, is when you’re not sometimes playing your best, when you’re in search mode, that you find it somehow, you squeeze through, play better than the next round. It’s a different opponent, different conditions, different everything. Now you can look back and think maybe having played as much as I did in the first [match] actually maybe helped me.”

 

Zverev also played a lot in his first match, and there won’t be another one for him. The No. 2 seed lost on Saturday night to soon-to-be-retired David Ferrer via a 2-6, 7-5, 6-3 decision.

 

Other men’s seeds to exit were Marin Cilic, Karen Khachanov, Stan Wawrinka, Diego Schwartzman, and Steve Johnson. Perhaps the most bizarre match of the day was Schwartzman’s 6-4, 3-6, 6-4 loss to Reilly Opelka. Five service breaks occurred in the first set lone–an unheard of number for an Opelka match. The 21-year-old American did not strike a single ace in opener…and won it! It is also worth noting that this match was briefly suspended due to…wait for it…the sun’s glare off one side of the main stadium.

 

Serena had sun problems in her first-round victory, but she won’t endure any more. She withdrew on Sunday due to a left-knee problem.

 

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand. You can follow him on twitter at @Dimonator.