Federer fights back to beat Albot in Miami

Monday, 25 March 2019 00:48 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Roger Federer waves to the crowd during a ribbon cutting ceremony on new stadium court at Hard Rock Stadium prior to playing in the first round of the Miami Open

REUTERS: Roger Federer rallied from a set down to beat Moldovan surprise package Radu Albot 4-6 7-5 6-3 in a stuttering start to the 20-times Grand Slam champion’s Miami Open campaign yesterday.

Federer, beaten by Dominic Thiem in last week’s BNP Paribas Open final, smashed 14 aces and broke Albot twice to advance to the third round but it was far from plain sailing for the 37-year-old against the world number 46.

After dropping the first set, Federer broke Albot while leading 6-5 in the second with a backhand volley winner. Albot could not convert a break point in the deciding set tied a 3-3, and the Swiss took command from there to wrap up a match that lasted two hours and 10 minutes. Three-time Miami champion Federer finished with 38 winners but had to overcome 41 unforced errors to defeat Albot, who earned an ovation from the crowd for his efforts. Earlier, South Africa’s Kevin Anderson made a winning return to competition with a 6-4 3-6 6-3 victory over rising Spaniard Jaume Munar. After more than two months away from the court with an elbow injury, the world number seven smashed 17 aces en route to the second round win over the 21-year-old Munar. It was Anderson’s first tournament appearance since the Australian Open in January and he said he was happy with the way his elbow felt. “To get through in three sets, it felt really good to be back out there. I’m happy with how the elbow responded. I feel like I’m hitting the ball great,” the sixth seed added. “It’s always different playing matches than hitting in practice, but I’ve been able to up my load and how much I’m able to serve. That’s really encouraging and that’s why I felt good coming into this week. “I’ve been able to do everything but hit serves recently. I always had the confidence that as soon as I got over that hurdle, I was going to find my form pretty quickly.”