Fourth seed Roger Federer takes on 12th seed Nick Kyrgios in the Men's singles semi-final of Miami Masters 2017 at Crandon Park on Friday.
The 18-time Grand Slam winner was made to toil hard for his quarter-final win against his familiar foe, Tomas Berdych. Federer saved two match points in the third set tie-breaker to progress in the tournament and take his tally this season to an impressive 17-1. Kyrgios also survived a close contest against German teenager Alexander Zverev in his quarter-final outing yesterday.
Federer and Kyrgios have met only once in the past - at 2015 Madrid Masters - in which the Australian came back from behind after losing the first set to take the match in three sets, all of them featuring tie-breakers. They were scheduled to meet in the quarter-final earlier this month at Indian Wells but the 21-year-old pulled out due to illness.
Kyrgios has been looking good this season despite suffering an early exit at the Australian Open. The world number 16, since then, has reached at least the quarter-final of all the tournaments he has featured in and has beaten world number two Novak Djokovic twice in the new season. However, Federer, given his recent form, will be hard nut to crack later today.
The Swiss great looks more determined than ever and it was evident from his remarkable comeback against Berdych. The two-time champion, who has already beaten Rafael Nadal twice in the new season, is likely to take on the Spaniard in the title match on Sunday.
Federer has not been affected by pressure of playing big matches so far in the season and with the odds favouring him, let us not be surprised if he manages a straight set win today.
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