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Patna : Winner of 20 Grand Slam singles titles Roger Federer, 37, Switzerland, reached the final of ATP Miami Open at Florida, USA, on March 30, 2019, beating World No 23 Denis Shapovalov, 19, Canada, 6-2, 6-4 in the semi-finals at Hard Rock Stadium.
Federer, the World No 5, will face defending champion and World No 9 John Isner, 33, USA, in the final on March 31, 2019. Isner defeated Canadian teenage sensation Felix Auger-Aliassime 7-6, 7-6 in the first semi-finals on March 30, 2019, late night. Federer and Isner will be facing each other after four years. Federer leads Isner 5-2 head to head. Isner had beaten Federer in their last meeting in the Round of 16 of ATP Paris Masters 1,000 in 2015.
Federer, the 4th seed, broke 20th seed Shapovalov’s service three times in the match besides winning five games in a row. Federer’s winning percentage both on his first and second serve (91% & 77%) was much higher than that of Shapovalov (78% & 35%). Shapovalov served 3 Aces to 2 by Federer in the match. He also committed 5 double faults to 1 by Federer, a three-time winner of Miami Open title. It was first meeting between the two players.
Isner,the 7th seed, ended Aliassime’s brilliant run at the tournament firing 21 Aces in their semi-finals match. Aliassime, 18, committed 7 double faults to 2 by Isner. Both the players won two break points each in the match. Both of them also won 3 games each in a row in the match. Aliassime had reached the 3rd round of ATP Indian Wells Masters this year.