Roger Federer takes on unseeded American teenager Frances Tiafoe in his second-round clash of Miami Open 2017 at Crandon Park in Florida on Saturday evening.
The fourth seed is looking for a sunshine double as he won the ATP Indian Wells Masters last week defeating his compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka in the final. On the other hand, Tiafoe is facing Federer for the first time in his career and he won the qualifying campaign after which he defeated Russian Konstantin Kravchuk 7-5, 5-7, 6-1 in the first round on Friday.
With top-ranked players Andy Murray and Novak Djokovic not playing in the tournament with injuries, comeback man Federer will be eyeing his third title of the season after he clinched glory at Australian Open and at Indian Wells.
The 34-year-old, who came back from a long injury-layoff that saw him skip the second half of 2016 season, is looking refreshed and is in top form, decimating all his opponents enroute to title in California in straight sets.
While he is favourite to win today's clash against the American qualifier, Federer will be wary of a possible third-round test against giant-slayer Juan Martin del Potro. The 18-time Grand Slam champion would want to send out an early warning to the rest of the pack by clinching a straight sets win today.
On the other hand, Tiafoe has made good starts to tournaments in the ongoing season but has not been able to progress past the initial hurdles. It will be a stiff test for the American and given Federer's form, another early exit awaits him.
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