Radu Albot walked off the court inside Hard Rock Stadium to a thunderous applause from thousands of fans. The Moldovan had just tested 100-time tour-level titlist Roger Federer in a two-hour, nine-minute three-setter in the pair’s first FedEx ATP Head2Head meeting.

While the crowd — as was likely expected — was behind the Swiss, Albot certainly earned its respect.

“It was different, playing against a superstar. It’s different to play and to feel that everybody is cheering for him. It’s different to play with one of the best players of all-time, and to feel his shots and his capability to play against me, to feel it myself,” Albot said. “Of course I went on the court absolutely willing and sure that I could win that match.

“But the experience is pretty interesting. You play all your life and all the tournaments to be here and to compete against the best. When you finally have a chance to play against the best, I think it’s a good achievement and something I finally accomplished in my career.”

It was the first time Albot has faced an opponent inside the Top 5 of the ATP Rankings. He had never faced another former World No.1, either.

“I’ve never practised with him, and there were a couple of shots that I didn’t expect, or another player would play differently. But I have to say he handles the ball very well,” Albot said. “He can maneuver it like everywhere and create angles, create height, create sidespin. Now that I competed against him for more than two hours, I felt on my skin all he can do, in a way.”

There was never a moment in which Albot was overtaken by the occasion. He never looked across the net and let sink in the fact that he was playing Federer.

“There is nothing to process and to look at because on the other side is also a human. He has strengths and weaknesses and if you play the right way, you can win,” Albot said. “So there’s nothing to be afraid of, because if you’re afraid and you’re scared, that means you have no chance right away.”

Albot earned the first break opportunity in all three sets. And if one of those went differently, perhaps the 5’9” Moldovan would have sprung the upset. His performance caught Federer’s attention.

“I thought it was hard. I was impressed. I have a lot of respect for those types of players who don’t have the size, have to find a different way to win,” Federer said. “He’s a great, great player. I was impressed.”

Since Delray Beach champion Albot had never been in this position before, preparation for the match could have been different. But given the form he is in, cracking the Top 50 of the ATP Rankings for the first time ahead of this tournament, he also wanted to focus on his own game.

“You have to think about everybody’s gamestyle. Of course everybody knows that Roger’s serve and forehand is top-class. You have to be aware of those two shots and maybe to play a little bit more to the backhand, to cover that part of the court more. I focused on this a little bit,” Albot said. “I just tried not to change a lot because when you try to think of different things, it’s not worth it. You just have to keep your game and continue what you’re doing well and not suddenly change because it’s Roger.”

Albot is plenty motivated as it is. But this makes him even hungrier to put himself in position to play Federer or one of the other superstars of the sport to try to change the result.

“I would like to play against top guys. Now I had the chance to play against Roger and I’m not afraid to say I’d like to play against the top guys again,” Albot said. “That’s why you practise, that’s why you compete at the highest level, to be able to get in position in the earlier or later stages of the tournament, hopefully, to compete against them and hopefully it will happen more in the future.”

While Albot did not walk off the court with a victory, he left it with plenty of memories. And those in attendance will remember him, too.

“At that moment everybody was clapping, everybody was cheering for me while I was walking off the court, I stopped for a little bit and thanked everybody from every corner of the stands and I have to say that it was pretty loud,” Albot said. “The atmosphere was nice. I’ve never played with such a big stadium and to be almost full is something new for me. I really, really enjoyed it, even if I lost. Of course I would like to win, but walking off the court everyone was clapping and cheering for me, so this was very impressive and a good experience.”

The Roger Federer Foundation’s work in Malawi to educate children has pivoted to provide critical assistance to thousands of people displaced by the recent Cyclone Idai that killed more than 600 people in Southern Africa.  As the floodwaters have started to recede, the death toll across Mozambique, Zimbabwe and Malawi is expected to continue to grow.

“Cyclone Idai is a unbelievable disaster,” Federer said. “And it hit the most vulnerable ones in Malawi, Mozambique and Zimbabwe. It will take years for people to recover. My thoughts and solidarity are with the thousands of displaced people and families who lost their loved ones.”

The most affected District is Nsanje in the south of Malawi, an underdeveloped country in which nearly 70 percent of its 17 million people live on less than $1.90 a day. All of the Foundation’s six model preschools have been converted to evacuation centres. More than 9000 families in the district have been displaced, including 77 of the Foundation’s kindergarten teachers.

The Foundation’s satellite centres, which are not robust structures like the model centres, have not fared so well. Many have collapsed or need significant repairs before children can resume classes.

The most urgent need is to provide safe water and sanitation facilities to affected families in order to prevent an epidemic.

Help the Roger Federer Foundation and other relevant organisations in the disaster region to rebuild facilities and provide relief to typhoon victims by donating now.

Roger Federer Foundation

World Food Programme

UNICEF

Sometimes a loss doesn’t need to be overanalysed.

Dominic Thiem refused to link his opening-round exit on Friday at the Miami Open presented by Itau to a comedown after winning his first ATP Masters 1000 title just days earlier at the BNP Paribas Open. The third seed gave full credit to his opponent, Hubert Hurkacz of Poland, and said he put in an ordinary performance on a day when he needed to be great.

“I had a lot of emotions the last week, but I still had three or four days since then and that should be enough,” said Thiem. “There were some moments like when he gave me the break (at 1-1 in the second set) and I should have continued [with the momentum], but in general, he was just better. I wasn’t quite on my level like last week, but it was an okay match for me.”

Hurkacz isn’t an opponent anyone wants to face these days. The 22-year-old defeated Kei Nishikori en route to his first Masters 1000 quarter-final last week in Indian Wells (l. to Federer) and has a jumped more than 30 spots in the ATP Rankings this year to his current career-high standing of No. 54.

“His first serve is very tough to read and he returned well in situations when he needed it,” said Thiem. “My serve was not big enough, but he put a lot of pressure on it and he deserved to win.”

Location may have also played a role in Friday’s outcome. The high-bouncing courts at Indian Wells suit Thiem’s game perfectly, but he has struggled in Miami in recent years. Although he reached the quarter-finals in 2015, he now sports a 7-5 record at this event and has lost his past two matches here.

But rather than dwell on defeat, Thiem will turn his attention to the clay-court season he has historically excelled in. Last year, he took the title at the Open Parc Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Lyon (d. Simon) and finished runner-up at Roland Garros (l. Nadal) and the Mutua Madrid Open (l. Zverev).

He will begin his clay season in earnest next month at the Rolex Monte-Carlo Masters. With his hard-court success in Indian Wells, his fans have plenty of reason to be excited about what he can do on his favourite surface.

“Now it’s clay court time,” said Thiem pointedly. “I’ll go back to Europe soon, rest for a few days and prepare for Europe.”