Roger Federer's season of resurgence took another thrilling turn Friday night when he won a three-tiebreaker semifinal against Nick Kyrgios at the Miami Open.
Federer failed to convert two match points in the second-set tiebreaker but finished off the flashy, unpredictable Kyrgios an hour later, 7-6 (9), 6-7 (9), 7-6 (5).
"It's great winning this way," Federer said. "It could have gone either way. It was a nail biter."
When Federer hit a service winner on the final point, Kyrgios angrily whacked his racket three times against the hard court. Federer patiently waited until the Aussie was done before triumphantly swatting a ball into the stands. Kyrgios then gave his racket a fling as the crowd booed before sharing a warm, weary exchange with Federer at the net.
Federer saved two match points in his quarterfinal win over Tomas Berdych. Now he's in the final Sunday against Rafael Nadal, 13 years after their first career encounter, also at Key Biscayne.
"My biggest rival," Federer said. "It feels like old times."
Nadal said: "I'm just excited to play against Roger always. He's a big challenge for me, and I think for everybody."
There will be a first-time Miami Open women's champion Saturday when Caroline Wozniacki plays Johanna Konta.
Federer won Key Biscayne in 2005 and 2006 and hasn't been to the final since. But the 18-time Grand Slam champion is on the rise again at age 35. He's 18-1 this year, his best start since 2006, including titles at the Australian Open in January and at Indian Wells two weeks ago, and has won 10 matches in a row. None was more harrowing than the latest victory.
A sellout crowd was firmly in Federer's corner, and the big-hitter Kyrgios played the role of unpopular spoiler brilliantly. He drew jeers every time he took his frustration out on his racket, received code violations for swearing and slow play, and complained about the fans when they shouted during a rally in the final tiebreaker.
And then there was Kyrgios' high-wire game, including huge groundstrokes that forced his opponent to play some dazzling defense. Federer had no complaint about Kyrgios' fiery behavior. "Crowds jump on it pretty quickly, but it makes for a good atmosphere at the end of the day, so it's not all that bad," Federer said. "I think he's good for the game."
Federer rallied from a break down in the first set, and overcame two set points in the first tiebreaker. He didn't face a break point in the final two sets.
Kyrgios' final risky shot backfired — a 128-mph second serve sailed long for a double fault. That gave Federer his third match point — the last one he needed.
Sania-Strycova in final of Miami Open
Sania Mirza combined with her partner Barbora Strycova to stave off a strong challenge from Martina Hingis and Chan Yung-Jan and reach the women's double final at the Miami Open tennis tournament. Sania and Barbora lost the opening set of their semi-final clash on Friday evening before staging a brilliant comeback to script a 6-7, 6-1, 10-4 against their fifth-seeded opponents. The third seeded Indo-Czech pair will face the unseeded Canadian-Chinese team of Gabriela Dabrowski and Xu Yifan in the battle for the title. Sania, who had clinched the women's doubles title alongside American star Bethanie Mattek-Sands at the Brisbane Open in January, will be eyeing her second title of the year.