Kyrgios Relishing Opportunity To Play Federer In Miami
Nick Kyrgios will compete against Roger Federer for the first time in almost two years on Friday in the Miami Open presented by Itau semi-finals. It will be an eagerly anticipated clash, 14 days on from Kyrgios withdrawing due to food poisoning prior to facing Federer in the BNP Paribas Open quarter-finals.
“Obviously, Federer's the greatest player of all-time, but the way that he takes time away from players is his strength,” said No. 12 seed Kyrgios on Thursday, after he beat Alexander Zverev in the last eight. “He likes to play his pace of tennis. He likes to take away time and play aggressively and likes to get through his service games very quickly - serve and volley. I know what's going to be coming.”
In May 2015, Kyrgios fired down 22 aces and saved two match points in a 6-7(2), 7-6(5), 7-6(12) victory over Federer in the Mutua Madrid Open second round.
“I don't know if my chances are great playing Federer and possibly [Rafael] Nadal, two of the greatest tennis players of all-time,” said Kyrgios. “I'm just excited to go out there tomorrow and give it my best shot. I am not thinking ahead. It would be foolish to be thinking ahead past Federer. He deserves a bit more respect than that.
“Obviously when I played juniors, under-12s, under-14s, I would be seeing him on the TV all the time on the advertisements. It's pretty surreal for me still. I was watching Gael Monfils on TV. I went to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga's practices when I was 12. So it is still pretty surreal be next to those guys in the locker room, playing them, beating them.”
The 21-year-old Kyrgios is appearing in his second straight Miami semi-final and he’s the first Australian to reach back-to-back semi-finals in Key Biscayne since former World No. 1 Lleyton Hewitt’s three in a row from 2000-02.
Fourth seed Federer, who won the 2005-06 Miami titles and reached the 2002 final, comes in with a nine-match winning streak and 17-1 record on the season, his best start since 2006 when he went 33-1. The 35-year-old superstar is appearing in his sixth Miami semi-final (3-2) and the first since 2011. The 21-year-old Kyrgios has a 12-17 career record vs. Top 10 opponents, including 4-6 vs. the Big Four of Murray (0-5), Djokovic (2-0), Federer (1-0) and Nadal (1-1).
Speaking about Kyrgios recently in Indian Wells, Federer believes that the Aussie has long been on a promising track to success. “I think he's more established than I was back then already, because he's already beaten great players for a while now,” said Federer. “I don't think I was doing as great as he was. I didn't have that big of a game, per se, with the serve and everything.
“I feel like Nick and me, we have a lot of options, so it’s hard for us to always pick the right one. I don’t want to say I was a late bloomer. I don’t think I was…[but] I think both our games need a bit more time on the mental side and physical side. That's maybe going to take a bit more time, but that's why he can win tournaments. When it matters the most against the best players and in finals, he's there. That's a great quality to have already now.”
With Federer riding a wave of confidence on hard courts in 2017, he’ll be eager to turn the tables on Kyrgios, following their titanic 2015 Madrid battle. “I had to waste a match point and lose that match. I was like, ‘What a waste.’ That’s how I felt,” said Federer, in Indian Wells. “But I’m looking forward to this match. Of course, I’d love to get him back.”