Roger Federer Dominates Denis Shapovalov To Reach 50th Masters 1000 Final at Miami Open

(March 29, 2019) MIAMI, FL – Canadian 19-year-old Denis Shapovalov may have dreamed of playing his idol Roger Federer, but his dream became a very harsh reality when the 37-year-old 20-time major champion schooled the youngster 6-2, 6-4 during the night session of the Miami Open on Friday. Federer will meet American John Isner in Sunday’s Miami Open final.

Defending Champion John Isner is Back in Miami Open Final

“He’s got every shot mastered,” admitted Shapovalov.  “When he needs a shot, he’s going to go for it and he’s going to make it. I don’t think he has any weaknesses. That’s why he’s the GOAT.”

“Honestly, I was just trying to kind of get into the match,” he told media. “Obviously I started off a little bit tight. He started off pretty strong in the first.

“So in the second set I tried to turn it around. Had a couple chances. Wasn’t able to convert. Yeah, I did what I could. And with that moment, it was just kind of a fun moment.”

“it’s kind of surreal, being on the court against him,” added the Canadian. “Obviously I wasn’t trying to focus on the fact that it’s Roger on the other side.

“I was just trying to play as good as I can, and, you know, he did a good job today. He played an excellent match. I wasn’t able to kind of stay at his level. So, you know, I’m just going to try to learn from this and move forward.”

“I enjoyed it,” Federer said. “I think I played very well. I had to. Because I think when you let Denis play, he’s got some serious power and he gets rhythm going. He can really put you in uncomfortable situations.

“So I think I did well, and I’m very happy how I played. Yeah, I thought it was a good match. It was a good level.”

“Denis is a great player,” Federer noted. “He will be even better in the future.”

Shapovalov wise rise to a career high No. 20 in the rankings next week.

Federer is heading into Sunday’s final with a 5-2 record against the defending champion Isner. Federer will be going for his fourth Miami Open title.

Federer said in his on-court interview that playing Isner is like being the goalie facing his hard-hitting serves.

He talked to media about how he anticipates the American’s serve: “Some days you feel it better than others. And just because — let’s just say I know he’s going to be T, let’s say he told me that before the serve, that still doesn’t mean I’m going to hit a return winner, because the margins are so slim when it comes in so fast and so high.

“No. 1, you want to connect. Secondly you want to get in a neutral position, which is very difficult, because you know he’s looking for his forehand or he looks to come in or try to take charge of the point. Yeah, it’s tough. Then you just hope that sort of the stars align, that you pick the right side, that he picks the wrong side, that maybe he misses a serve, that you can put him in uncomfortable situations time and time again, and at the end somehow you find a way.

“Yeah. He’s definitely got one of the serves you can basically not read. It’s that simple.”