By Chris Oddo | Saturday March 25, 2017
Roger Federer was pushed early but cruised later to reach the third round in Miami.
Photo Source: BNP Paribas
Frances Tiafoe’s first meeting with 18-time major champion Roger Federer didn’t disappoint. The 19-year-old started strong and displayed a ton of moxie in the first set, pushing the great Federer all the way to a tiebreaker.
More: Tiafoe Thrilled to Face Federer for First Time
But Federer took over from there, racing through the breaker and taking charge in the second set to notch a 7-6(2), 6-3 victory, which sets the table for a possible third-rounder with Argentina’s Juan Martin del Potro.
Federer improves to 45-13 all-time at Miami. The Swiss is second behind Andre Agassi (61) in wins at the Miami Open.
The No.4-seeded Federer won 27 of 32 first-serve points and dropped only 11 points on serve all day, but he was broken once in the first game of the second set.
Federer responded quickly by breaking back in the next game and reeled off five of six games in total to lead 5-2. Tiafoe stayed within a break with a final hold before Federer served out the match to close affairs in a tidy 72 minutes.
Joining Federer in the third round on the men’s side were No.3-seeded Stan Wawrinka, who sailed past Horacio Zeballos in straight sets, No.8-seeded David Goffin, who defeated Darian King in straight sets, and No.16-seeded Alexander Zverev, who dropped Yen-Hsun Lu, 6-0, 6-3.
Del Potro has not faced Federer since his most recent comeback began in 2016, but the former World No. 4 does own wins over Nadal, Djokovic and Murray and has gone 6-7 against the Top 10.
Del Potro owns a 5-15 record against Federer overall. They have not met since the 2013 World Tour Finals.