Federer Recounts ‘Horrible Match’ From Miami Debut

Roger Federer remembers well his first professional match at Crandon Park, home to the Miami Open presented by Itau for the last time in 2018. It was 1999, the Swiss star’s first season on the ATP World Tour and he was handed a wild card into the tournament in which he drew Denmark’s Kenneth Carlsen.

Federer, then No. 125 in the ATP Rankings, lost that first-round match 7-5, 7-6(4). The Dane would go on to beat Goran Ivanisevic in the next round before Francisco Clavet ended his run.

Only a year prior, Federer had won the prestigious Orange Bowl junior championships. He would later claim the 1998 junior Wimbledon title on his way to ending the year as the World No. 1 junior.

“I mean, I was excited,” Federer said. “I don’t know when I found out that I was going to get the wild card for the ’99 Miami Open. That was a big deal. Unfortunately I played a horrible match, terrible attitude in that match, lost first round.

“But in the juniors, I played some great players. I remember beating [David] Nalbandian in the semis and [Guillermo] Coria in the finals on this very court. Yeah, my memories of Key Biscayne go way back.

“I guess I finished as World No. 1 junior after winning that final. I needed to win to clinch it. Then after that I figured, well… who knows? I could become World No. 1 in the pros but still a long way away, but you start to have a dream, and I think it helped me to win the Orange Bowl here in that year.”

Three times the Swiss has gone on to claim the Miami title in his career, including in 2017 when he defeated Rafael Nadal in straight sets in the final. He will open his 17th campaign against #NextGen Australian qualifier Thanasi Kokkinakis.

The 36-year-old arrives in Miami on the back of a thrilling final defeat to Juan Martin Del Potro in Indian Wells, where three championship points slipped from his grasp. It snapped his career-best start to a season (17-0).

“It always takes a few days to recover from a busy and high-intensity weekend,” Federer said. “Regardless of how difficult the match was physically, you still have a letdown emotionally, because you’re drained from that perspective… You’re emotionally drained after every final, regardless if you win or lose.

“I’m happy about how I played and how I felt afterwards. Didn’t take me a whole lot of time to get over it, to be honest, because I felt like it could have gone either way. Unfortunately I wasn’t on the winner’s side because maybe I have had enough luck throughout the last 14 months on my side of the court, so it’s OK to lose some.”

Despite Nadal’s absence from the tournament, Federer must reach at least the quarter-finals to retain his grip on the No. 1 ATP Ranking. It remains among his greatest motivators. 

“Winning tournaments, I guess trying to stay world No. 1,” he said. “At this point, because I’m so close, everything is so tight. Stay injury-free, enjoy myself, try to beat the best players that are out there.

“Yeah, that’s it. And just enjoy it from that perspective. Then obviously there is a lot of family and friends and that stuff, the more important things that I care a lot about.”