We’re set today to see what the other Miami SF looks like with Tiafoe vs Shapovalov and then later we get Federer vs Anderson.

Federer dismissing Medvedev like that proves both that the old man continues to grind and often has too much for most of these mere mortals, and that Medvedev seems to have taken a small step backwards from his earlier 2019 form.

But as we also like to say: the other teams have coaches too. So part of this may be that Medvedev’s game is getting more looks and more strategy on how to deal with this interesting style. That troubling backhand is very steady and the low, flat ball speaks to this guy’s skill.

What Federer found with this yesterday was a way to keep the Russian running. That quicker, lower ball took time away as Federer, up on the baseline, moving forward, could use the Russian’s lower flight and power against him. Players that stay back against the Russian don’t have that option. The rewards from playing up and being able to take the ball early. Of course, he was able to capitalize on some errors from the Russian who had a few opportunities to make this a match.

I almost wrote a post last night during the Auger-Aliassime vs Coric match.

His let down at IW hurt my feelings.  😀

I so wanted to see him in the SF, a long-shot for the youngster, but given his win over Tsitsipas and the way that top-half in IW opened-up, I was quite optimistic.

When he lost, I rationalized that his win over Tsitsipas would pay dividends later in the year. Tsitsipas had gotten my attention at 2018 IW with a tough three-set loss to Thiem. That paid huge dividends later in the year for the Greek, obviously.

Here a week later, we see Felix causing all kinds of problems for the draw. His win over Coric was quite the tennis spectacle.

Ladies and gentlemen: the future is bright for the ATP. Guys like Thiem, Zverev, Tsitsipas, FAA, Shapo, Coric, Tiafoe, Khachanov, Medvedev, Opelka, Kyrgios, Hurkacz. . . will give us all kinds of joy and sorrow. Trust me.

What a battle last night. The Croat is a solid player. But FAA has another gear. If he can get that serve more consistent, he’s a nightmare. He turned-out to be too much for the Croat who lost that tough TB in that first and with a tiny let-up saw the match go-away in that second set. Great future-of-the-ATP theater.

There is a lot to talk about in these parts. The lost post yesterday was too bad. I previewed Federer vs Medvedev and had a few thoughts on Djokovic’s loss, which was essentially a Doha deja-vu, as well as a consolidation of my thoughts on his disinterest in the non-major tennis tournament at this point. That can be the only explanation, right?

Novak has one thing on his mind right now: finding and beating Nadal on clay. Anyone else want to watch that plot unfold over the next few months? First up is Monte Carlo in a few weeks.

But back to Miami. Federer should have the advantage over Kevin on the hard courts though I seem to remember the S. African getting to Federer recently on a fairly big stage.

Tiafoe vs Shapvalov should be quite good. Both have a powerful game, but both have a slight affinity for the unforced error, over-cooking the shot, etc.

Auger Aliassime vs defending champ Isner in SF #1

Who you go in today’s matches?

Can’t wait to watch and talk some more tennis!