Roger Federer is the greatest player ever to dignify the tennis court with his on-court artistry. He has been inspiring millions around the world for nearly two decades. World No.8 Matteo Berrettini is no different than others as he also idolizes the Swiss maestro.
Berrettini also praised Federer’s arch-rivals Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic for taking the sport to another level. The ‘Big Three’ is certainly unique as the trio continues to set the standard in men’s tennis for a decade and a half.
“I can talk about him for two days” – Matteo Berrettini
Berrettini grew up watching Federer, idolizing him and taking inspiration from him. However, when he grew up and joined the ATP Tour, he got to know how big the other players are. He is awestruck with Djokovic’s return game and Nadal’s intensity.
“Roger is tennis,” Berrettini said on an Instagram live with Chris Evert. “He can do whatever he wants. It’s so easy. He is my idol. And I can talk about him for two days. He makes it look like he born like that.”
“Novak is a machine. For me, he is the worst to play. I remember playing him in London at the tour finals, had nearly 70% of my first serves in the 2nd set and still lost the set 6-1. I couldn’t hold my serve. He has an amazing return. His backhand is really good,” he added.
“Nadal’s intensity is unbelievable. It doesn’t matter if the score is 5-0 and 0-5,” the Italian concluded.
It is very unlikely that Federer, Nadal, and Djokovic will retire in the same year. However, many fears about the impact of their departures. For now, the trio is still dominating the tour, sharing the last 13 Grand Slam titles among themselves.
Roger Federer’s most dominant victories in Miami
The-four time Miami Open champion Roger Federer didn’t have a chance to defend the crown last week, with a coronavirus halting all the action at least until the second part of July. Thus, Roger also missed the opportunity to pass Andre Agassi and become the player with most wins at the second Masters 1000 event of the season, hoping to return in 2021 and grab another milestone.
Making a debut in Miami in 1999, Federer has turned himself into one of the most accomplished players at this event, together with Andre Agassi and Novak Djokovic, scoring some memorable victories and leaving the opponents far behind on numerous occasions.
In six of those 56 wins, Federer claimed at least 62% of the overall points, firing from all cylinders and outplaying rivals on both serve and return to claim dominant triumphs and give his fans something to cheer about. Following short Miami campaigns in 1999 and 2000, Roger was eager to show his best tennis in Florida in 2001, kicking off the action with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Younes El Aynaoui in 56 minutes, losing 13 points in eight service games and seizing every opportunity on the return to hold the strings of the match in his hands all the time.
El Aynaoui served at only 49% and that wasn’t enough against the aggressive youngster who grabbed two breaks in each set to reach the third round, entering the last eight that season for the first time. A year later, Federer came to Miami as the top-15 star and advanced into the title match where Andre Agassi toppled him in four sets.
In the quarter-final, Roger destroyed Andrei Pavel 6-1, 6-1 in 55 minutes, fending off the only break point he faced and taking more than half of the return points to notch the most dominant Miami win in terms of games he lost.
Federer had to wait for nine years for another dominant victory under the sun in Florida, taking down Radek Stepanek 6-3, 6-3 in the second round in 2011, dropping only ten points on serve and pushing the Czech to the limits on the second serve to break him three times and cross the finish line in 62 minutes.
Two rounds later, Roger sank his junior doubles partner Olivier Rochus 6-3, 6-1 in swift 53 minutes, unleashing fury from serve to hand only five points behind the initial shot and converting four out of 11 break chances in what could have been an even more one-sided encounter if he had earned an extra break or two.
Fifteen years after making Miami debut, Roger was still capable of bringing an excellent performance in Florida in 2014, storming over Richard Gasquet 6-1, 6-2 in just 49 minutes, taking 52 out of 80 points overall and allowing the Frenchman to gain only eight points on the return.
Federer took more than half of the points in Richard’s games, earning six break chances and seizing five to march towards the finish line after a drop shot winner in the eighth game of the second set. Two decades after playing in Miami for the first time, Federer claimed the title a year ago, ousting injured defending champion John Isner 6-1, 6-4 in 64 minutes for his 28th and so far the last Masters 1000 trophy.
In one of his best serving performance ever, the Swiss lost three points behind the initial shot to mount the pressure on the other side of the net, earning four breaks from ten chances and racing past the rival who was struggling with a foot injury, barely finishing the match without having to retire.
