Federer wins Miami Open, takes 101st career singles title

Miami — Swiss tennis icon Roger Federer , the fourth seed at the Miami Open, on Sunday easily defeated US rival John Isner 6-1, 6-4 to secure his fourth title at the tourney at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

Isner was the seventh seed and was defending the Miami Open title he won last year.

The Swiss player needed just an hour and three minutes to take care of Isner at the Hard Rock Stadium, the new venue for the Miami Open.

Federer broke Isner’s service early in the first set, and went on to quickly crush the American in that set, a situation that seemed to take all the wind out of Isner’s sails. Federer never let up during the second set and it was clear that he dominated the contest all the way through.

“Getting a break so early was like a dream start. It relaxes your nerves and you’re now in the match,” Federer said after the victory. “What a week it has been for me.”

The 33-year-old Isner, on the other hand, said “Somewhere during the first set I started feeling pain on top of my foot and it didn’t go away and it just got worse.”

“It’s a terrible feeling. You’re on an island against the best player ever and my foot was killing (me). I have never broken my foot before and I don’t know if that’s what it is but I can imagine if it is, this is how it would feel.”

Federer, 37, appeared to be aware of the problems Isner was having, saying after the match “It was difficult for John at the end. I have been there before and the way he was moving showed he wasn’t well.”

Federer had not played Isner since the 2015 season, when they played twice, each winning one match. Isner last beat Federer in the eighth round of the ATP Masters 1000 Paris.

Sunday’s duel between the pair was the eighth time they had faced each other, with a current advantage of 6-2 for Federer.

This is the fourth Miami title that Federer has won after taking the 2005, 2006 and 2017 tourneys, and it was his 28th Masters 1000 win as a pro.

The former No. 1 player in the world took home a purse of $1,354,010 and 1,000 ATP world ranking points for winning his 101st title on the pro circuit. Isner, meanwhile, pocketed $686,000 and 650 ranking points.

Last Friday, Federer had advanced to the final round after defeating Canada’s Denis Shapovalov 6-2, 6-4 in the semifinals.

It was the first time Federer had played in Miami since 2017, when he won his third trophy there.

Isner had earlier triumphed 7-6 (3) and 7-6 (4) over the young Canadian Felix Auger-Aliassime, the world number 57, to get to the final.

The semi-finals triumphs of Federer and Isner leave the “old guard” as the current winners in the generational duels at the semifinals in Miami, ahead of the so-called #NextGenATP, the young and rising players who have burst strongly into the world of tennis.

The Miami Open is one of nine ATP Tour Masters 1000 events, which rank just below the four Grand Slam tournaments and the season-ending ATP Finals in terms of ranking points and prestige.