Playing inside the Hard Rock Stadium for the first time in his career, Roger Federer will be the first to admit that it didn’t go as smoothly as he would have wanted it to.
Taking on Moldova’s Radu Albot in his opening match at the Miami Open, the 20-time grand slam champion battled back from the brink to win 4-6, 7-5, 6-3. Taking more than 90 minutes before breaking Albot for the first time in the match. The Swiss fourth seed produced a total of 38 winners, but also leaked 41 unforced errors before going on to secure a place in the third round.
“I felt like all the important points, points that could have led to something interesting for me, I played poorly because I was in two minds.” Said Federer.
“Margins are slim. Then you’re down. When you’re down, you got to play differently. At the end, it’s just about finding a way. These are the matches that are so key during the year for any player, is when you’re not sometimes playing your best, when you’re in search mode, that you find it somehow, you squeeze through.”
The three-set test was Federer’s first taste of playing a competitive match at the new home of the Miami Open. The venue has been moved from Key Biscayne to the Hard Rock Stadium, which is home to the NHL team Miami Dolphins. The $72 million development includes a 5,191-seat grandstand court, two other show courts and eight additional match courts. The premier court is a temporary structure build on the actual football field. As for the other court’s, they have been built over parking spaces around the stadium.
“It’s always going to feel very different in a massive place like this.” Said Federer. “It was definitely different, especially very different to Key Biscayne last year.”
Lead by tournament director James Blake, Miami has an ambitious dream of being known as the unofficial fifth grand slam of tennis. A phrase that is more commonly associated with Indian Wells, which takes place prior to this event. Meanwhile Mark Shapiro, who is the president of IMG’s parent company Endeavor, told the New York Times “Forget becoming the fifth major, we’re the new U.S. Open.”
It is hard to fault the organisers enthusiasm, but what does Federer make of the lively atmosphere surrounding the party-like venue?
“There’s definitely always a slight sort of buzz in the stadium. I think it’s more because of the size and the ventilation. You feel there’s always a bit of a noise there, which is sometimes a bit unusual for tennis. Of course, indoors you get that more often. We do have it occasionally.” He explained.
“A very key element of our sport is you can hear a pin drop, right? Here it’s not so much the case. When somebody hits the ball, it’s not as clear maybe, which then can feel almost like it’s a little bit of an empty space. That can feel maybe a little bit different.”
Due to the location of the premier court being built inside a stadium, it is invertible that the shadows could cause an issue for players are the day progresses. Something that was highlighted by Serena Williams’ clash with Rebecca Peterson, which she won in three sets. Williams pulled out of the tournament on Saturday due to injury.
Incredible effort to play with this shadow…… pic.twitter.com/nZwsGejwI4
— Daniel Vallverdu (@danielvallverdu) March 22, 2019
Whilst the shadows may bother some, 37-year-old Federer insists that he is not one of those players.
“The shadows, they didn’t bother me. The glare was very short. Other than that, it’s a big place. I mean, the side stands are huge. It goes far away. It’s unusual to have it that way. I would have thought maybe they would put it in the corner, the stadium, instead of on the long side. Still, it was a good atmosphere. It’s steep on the three sides.” He evaluated.
Federer will return to action on Monday when he plays Filip Krajinović.
