With age comes perspective and at 35, on the comeback from his longest stint on the sidelines, Roger Federer is playing with a renewed sense of freedom. A stunning run to the Australian Open title and then the BNP Paribas Open crown at the weekend are testament to him chanelling this ‘underdog’ confidence as he prepares a tilt at his first Miami Open title in 11 years. The Swiss, who started the season at No. 17 in the Emirates ATP Rankings, has soared back to No. 6. A decade ago he was the reigning two-time Miami Open champion. “At 25 I was winning 90 per cent of my matches and eventually you’re on this train where you keep rolling and...
Jack Sock is brimming with confidence and hopes to lead the American charge at the Miami Open presented by Itau. The World No. 17 in the Emirates ATP Rankings impressed with a run to the semi-finals last week at the first ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event of the season, the BNP Paribas Open, falling to eventual champion Roger Federer. “I definitely played some good tennis in California, I’m going to build off the confidence I gained there,” said the 24 year old. “It’s been a good start to the year for me, so I need to keep on the same path I’m on, keep on doing the same things, and hopefully I’ll produce another good result here.” The 13th...
The stretch remains one of the most intense on the ATP World Tour: Four weeks. Two ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments. Drastically different conditions. At the first Masters 1000, the BNP Paribas Open, the dry heat of the desert that can befuddle even the best players. At the other, the Miami Open presented by Itau, the wretched humidity needs only minutes to turn your light T-shirt into a soaked towel. But battle through the conditions, the tough draws and the world-class opponents, and you can walk away with one of the most impressive achievements of the season: Back-to-back Masters 1000 titles on hard courts. Only seven players since 1991 have swept the March Masters and won back-to-back Indian Wells...
Milos Raonic and south Florida go way back. The 26 year old has been stomping around tennis courts in the sun-soaked state ever since he was a teenager competing in the Orange Bowl, the prestigious international junior tournament held annually in Miami. As a teen, Raonic said, he envisioned playing at the sport's highest level in the same city, at the Miami Open presented by Itau, an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournament. Few juniors make the leap from the Orange Bowl to the top of the ATP World Tour, but Raonic has more than taken that big step, which makes the next two weeks of the Miami tournament that much more special to him. “The whole experience of playing...
Miami Open presented by Itau: The 33rd edition of the Miami Open presented by Itau gets underway on Wednesday. The second of nine ATP World Tour Masters 1000 tournaments of the season takes place at the Tennis Center at Crandon Park. The 96-player draw features seven of the Top 10 and 16 of the Top 20 players in the Emirates ATP Rankings. Two-time (2005-06) champion Roger Federer, who captured his 90th career title in Indian Wells, is the lone former winner in the field. Indian Wells, Miami Title Sweep: Since 1991, seven players have won the first two ATP World Tour Masters 1000 events of the season (11 times) in Indian Wells and Miami. Federer, who won both titles in...