Fourth seed Roger Federer takes on 29th seed Juan Martin del Potro in the 2017 Miami Open Men's singles third-round clash at Crandon Park, Florida on Monday.
The Swiss star started from where he left in California, decimating his first-round opponent Frances Tiafoe in straight sets on Saturday. On the other hand, Del Potro made light work of his opening-round opponent Robin Haase 6-2, 6-4 to set up a clash with the world number six.
Federer has a good head-to-head record over Del Potro winning 15 of their 20 clashes so far. He has also won their last two clashes, the latest being a 4-6,7-6, 7-5 win at 2013 ATP World Tour Finals. However, seven of their latest clashes have gone on to the decider.
However, Federer, who has begun the season on an incredible note winning two titles - Australian Open and Miami - is favourite to progress to the fourth round of the ongoing tournament. The 18-time Grand Slam champion has beaten his arch rival Rafael Nadal twice in the season and outclassed in-form compatriot Stan Wawrinka in the final of Indian Wells and is enjoying a season tally of 14-1.
The only blip in Federer's season so far has been a shock second-round exit at Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships but the comeback man buckled up since then and has not lost a set yet over his next six matches. Having found a lot of success on hard courts against the Argentine, the fourth seed will be confident on what will be another fast-paced surface later today.
On the other hand, Del Potro has not had much success this season and has slipped to top-ranked players of the likes of Milos Raonic (Delray Beach semi-final) and Novak Djokovic (Indian Wells second-round). The 28-year-old, with 6-3 record this season, is in for another stiff test.
TV Schedule
Malaysia: Astro Supersport
Canada: RDS, TSN
UK: Sky Sports
US: ESPN
India: Sony ESPN
Korea: Skylife
Vietnam: VSTV
Japan: NHK
South Africa: Supersport
Middle East: beIN Sports
Switzerland: SRG
