Miami Open: Federer dispatches Anderson, Halep knocked out
Vintage Roger Federer was all over Kevin Anderson in the quarter-finals of the Miami Open. The Swiss maestro will face Denis Shapovalov in the last four. On the other hand, Simona Halep's dream of reclaiming the number one ranking will need to wait. She was stunned in the semis by Karolina Pliskova. Here is the summary of key results.
For Halep, it was an encounter filled with errors. The Romanian lost to fifth-seeded Pliskova 5-7, 1-6. After going the distance in the first set, Pliskova dominated the show 5-0 in the second. It was for at least the sixth time that rain once again interrupted the game. Pliskova sealed 10 of the last 11 games against Halep and hit 23 winners.
"The conditions can change here in Miami so I think we were both ready for this day because since the morning it was tough. I was fighting a bit more and just playing more aggressive and it paid off," said Pliskova after her victory.
Ashleigh Barty eased into the finale with a straight-set victory over Estonia's Anett Kontaveit in the semis. With rain delays that led to almost five hours, Australia's Barty kept her patience with a 6-3, 6-3 victory. "I know we had to wait around but it was an opportunity to drink some coffee and watch the golf, so I was relaxed," said Barty.
In the men's section, Federer dished out a commanding performance to down Anderson 6-0, 6-4. He will meet Shapovalov, who beat fellow young gun Frances Tiafoe 6-7, 6-4, 6-2 to reach his third ATP Masters semi-final. It's a dream come true for Shapovalov, who grew up idolizing and studying the 20 time Slam-winning ace. This will be their first meeting between the two.
"It's a match up I have been looking forward to my whole life, a high stakes match against your idol. It's just a dream come true," said Shapovalov. "It's an exciting draw, for John and for myself here, playing these young guys," said Federer.
