hero-image

5 biggest upsets at the Miami Masters

 

The ATP Masters/WTA Premier Miami Masters are currently underway, and neither reigning champion - Novak Djokovic or Serena Williams - looks set to relinquish their crown.

But there have been some major upsets at the Florida-based event, and here are 5 of the most shocking:

Kei Nishikori beats Roger Federer, QF 2014

Federer was the tournament 5th seed and Nishikori 20th – but the Japanese ace pulled off a stunner

He may be a firm top 10 presence now, but in 2014 Kei Nishikori saw a series of patchy performances and was seeded 20th at the 2014 Miami Masters. He was up in the quarter-finals against fifth seed Roger Feder and the winner of that match would have been anybody's guess.

But a renewed Nishikori took on the 17-time Grand Slam winner, who was fresh off a finals finish at that year’s Indian Wells tournament, losing to eventual champion Novak Djokovic, and had found fresh form after being plagued by injury in 2013, and outclassed him.

Instead, at the quarter-final match between the Japanese 20th seed and the Swiss legend, it was Nishikori who became the first player to break Federer’s serve at the tournament thus far.

Nishikori displayed exceptional ball control and consistency in his serve throughout the match, while Federer, in his own words, could "never really get his service going.” He beat the Swiss 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to progress to the semi-finals, where he would go down to eventual champion Novak Djokovic, who is also the reigning champ at the 2016 tournament.

You may also like