Miami Open: Roger Federer To Face Rafael Nadal In Summit Clash

Gear up for the mouth watering clash as Roger Federer will again battle it out in the summit clash against Rafael Nadal on Sunday. Federer beat Nadal in the Australian Open 2017 final thriller in January to claim an 18th Grand Slam title and he swept past the Spaniard in straight sets in the fourth round at Indian Wells en route to the title there."If it's Roger, going to be another one for both of us, and that's it. Just another one," Nadal said of another installment in their long-running rivalry. In the semi-final clash, Federer defeated Australia's Nick Kyrgios 7-6 (11/9), 6-7 (9/11), 7-6 (7/5) on Friday.

Federer and Kyrgios produced an extraordinary range of shots in an enthralling, fiercely intense semi-final that kept the capacity crowd at Key Biscayne on the edge of their seats.

When Federer won the third tie-break a furious Kyrgios hammered his racket into the ground three times as the frustration of a remarkable near-miss came flooding out.

Kyrgios broke in the first set to go 4-3 up but Federer, with the loud crowd behind him, broke back to level at 5-5 when the Australian missed with an attempted big return.

Kyrgios finally won the battle in a tie-breaker with an amazing cross-court return to go 10-9 up, then followed it up with a thundering ace to force a third set.

There was nothing to choose between the pair in a third set that went to yet another tie-break.

Kyrgios was furious when a fan called out during one point, and Federer enjoyed two successful challenges late on his way to a win that sent the crowd wild with delight as Kyrgios went wild with rage.

No drama for Nadal

There was little drama in Nadal's 6-1, 7-5 win over Italian Fabio Fognini.

The unseeded Fognini struggled to get going in the first set which was dominated by fifth-seeded Nadal and over with in 25 minutes.

The Italian, who indicated he had some trouble with his elbow, put up a better response in the second but his work was undone when he double-faulted on break point, leaving the Spaniard to serve out for the win,

Nadal will play in his fifth Miami final but will be looking for his first title in the Masters series event.

(With inputs from AFP)