By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, March 27, 2019
A sharp Roger Federer dissected Daniil Medvedev, 6-4, 6-2, cruising into his 11th Miami Open quarterfinal.
Photo credit: Lindsey Godwin/Miami Open
Short-hopping a shot from shin level, Roger Federer flicked a clean backhand winner down the line that left Daniil Medvedvev shaking his head at the startling shot.
A sharp Federer redirected the Russian's churning drives with the ease of an artist dabbing splotches of yellow paint on the blue court.
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Before a supportive crowd, Federer dissected Medvedev, 6-4, 6-2, charging into
his 11th Miami Open quarterfinal.
Federer fired five aces, dropped just five points on first serve and denied all three break points in an efficient 61-minute victory.
The fourth-seeded Federer improved to 15-2 on the season defeating the co-leader in ATP wins.
The 37-year-old Swiss will face sixth-seeded Kevin Anderson for a semifinal spot.
Last July, the spirited South African fought back from a two-set deficit, denied match point in the third set and competed with defiance in the decider dethroning defending champion Federer 2-6, 6-7 (5), 7-5, 6-4, 13-11, to reach his first Wimbledon semifinal.
"He's got a great serve," Federer said of Anderson. "Look, I'm happy he's playing again after his injury. I mean, I think if you beat me at Wimbledon, you've got my attention. So from that standpoint, I know what I'm about to expect tomorrow.
"The matches I have played against him I know can be extremely close always, just because of his sheer possibilities that he has on the serve. I believe that probably the best surface for him is this kind of a type of hard court here in the States where he's spent a lot of his time practicing, as well. Coming from South Africa, I'm sure this is the kind of court also he played on."
The 6'8" Anderson represents an imposing obstacle; Federer showed the shot spectrum downsizing the 6'6" Medvedev today.
Federer unleashed his variation masterfully mixing low slice that danced near Medvedev's ankles with topspin drives that sent the 13th-seeded Russian scurrying into the corners of the court.
The three-time Miami Open champion cracked his side-spinning forehand crosscourt to drag the Russian wide then attacked his two-handed backhand forcing him to defend that wing on the run.
Nick Kyrgios has called Federer's backhand chip return one of his biggest weapons.
Today, Federer chipped his forehand on occasion and added to the degree of difficulty setting that shot up with the fake drop shot.
"I'm not sure if I really do that against bigger guys more often than against the other guys," Federer said. "The chip approach on the forehand side was more about sort of trying to fake a dropshot and then not doing it, seeing how he was going to react to it, if he was going to sort of bite, like fishing or not. And it worked both times. But it's not a play you can use all the time, because I never practice it, to be honest...
"You know, against certain players, slices work better than others. And today I know that if I do slice, I have to run a lot, I have to work a lot, which is fine at times. At the end of the day I have to come over and have to try and make the plays, too."
Federer played the short angles effectively to draw some timely errors from the flat-hitting Russian.
A two-game sequence changed the course of the match. Federer drained errors breaking for 5-4 when Medvedev sailed a backhand.
First-set closure was complicated as Federer faced triple break point in the 10th game.
Sliding an ace wide, Federer saved the second break point and erased the third on a netted backhand. Pumping a 121 mph serve winner brought Federer set point and he closed the opener in 33 minutes.
Haunted by the hangover of lost opportunity, Medvedev badly bungled a forehand sitter sailing it long to drop to love-30 in the opening game of the second set.
The Russian No. 2 never really recovered from that miss surrendering serve to start the second set.
Swinging freely with the lead, Federer charged out to a 4-2 lead winning 12 of 14 points played on his serve.
The 20-time Grand Slam champion completed a controlled win in 61 minutes.