Roger Federer sails past Juan Martin del Potro at Miami Open, reaches fourth round

Roger Federer walked into the Tennis Center at Crandon Park on Monday to find a jam-packed audience and an atmosphere comparable to a Grand Slam final. The energetic crowd wanted to see the Swiss master put on a show; Federer didn't disappoint them, beating Juan Martin del Potro 6-3, 6-4 to qualify for the fourth round of the Miami Open.

Federer, the former two-time Miami Open champion, never lost his serve against the power-packed service game of del Potro, who couldn't convert on as many as five break points. Federer will now face Spain's Roberto Bautista Agut in the fourth round on Tuesday. Agut, the 14th seed, came back from a set down to beat American Sam Querrey 3-6, 6-2, 6-3 in a third-round match-up Monday.

While Federer relied on his backhand strokes to catch del Potro off guard, the Argentine, planted on the left wing, kept going back to his rocket forehand to counter his opponent's ground strokes. It seemed like the players were trying to exploit each other's weakness in their meeting since the 2013 ATP Finals. "I feel like I earned it more. I was more the aggressor. It was more my racket, and I like it that way," Federer said after the victory, via ESPN.

Miami Open: Roger Federer through to the fourth round

With the victory, Federer improved his head-to-head record against del Potro to 16-5, his 2017 record to 15-1 and his career Miami Open record to 46-13. Federer, who won the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells last week, has the opportunity to improve his overall tally of career titles to 91 with victory at Key Biscayne. At 35 years and 7 months, Federer has already become the oldest player to win an ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event.

During the second set, del Potro nearly broke Federer's serve for a 3-2 lead until his often-problematic left wrist had to be taped up during a changeover. The stop in play seemed to have derailed his momentum. "I did my best. He played well in the break-point moments and I think that was the only difference in the match," said the 29th-seeded Argentine.

Federer, who missed last year's Miami Open due to stomach flu, thanked the crowd at Key Biscayne to create a colourful atmosphere. "It was really a great, nice atmosphere. It was a lot of pleasure playing in nice weather, great opponent, and great crowd. What else do you need?"