- Miami Masters
Federer makes flying start in Miami
Roger Federer booked his place in the third round of the Miami Masters by only losing three points on serve in a 6-4 7-6(4) victory over Ivo Karlovic.
Federer, a losing finalist to Novak Djokovic last weekend at Indian Wells, dropped one point on serve in the first set to continue his consistent start to 2014, where he has already lifted a title in Dubai and reached two finals.
In the opening game, Karlovic was cruising at 40-0, but after Federer picked up his first point with a sublime backhand up the line, the Swiss was gifted the break when Karlovic double-faulted.
Two-time champion Federer was flying through his service games as Karlovic was unable to control the rallies, and while he was able to hold his serve to stick with Federer, the latter continued to impress by mixing his tactics with baseline and net play to dominate.
Yet to win a point on the Federer serve, Karlovic managed to stop the rot in the 10th game as Federer hit an unforced error on set point. The following point saw Federer clinch the set 6-4 to move ahead in the encounter.
Federer dropped just the second point on serve in the seventh game of the second set, with Karlovic serving first to keep in front.
That game saw Federer have two break points, but Karlovic was able to save them and go 5-4 in front. Federer forced a tiebreak at 6-6, and lost another point on serve as he stormed into a 3-1 lead.
Karlovic stayed with Federer to trail 5-4, but having struggled to win points on his opponent's serve, Federer sealed victory with the two points on his serve to reach the next round.
Novak Djokovic joined Federer in the third round after beating Jeremy Chardy 6-4 6-3. The world No.2 is looking to win the title in Miami for a fourth time, and claimed the win in an hour and 24 minutes to extend his winning-streak to seven matches.
However, during the encounter, he exchanged angry words with the chair umpire after he had been given a time violation. Djokovic claimed the umpire should have warned him before handing out the time violation, saying: "You have to understand the game".
Last year's finalist David Ferrer, who held match point against Andy Murray, beat Teymuraz Gabashvili 6-4 6-0, with ninth seed Richard Gasquet Alejandro Gonzalez 7-6(7) 6-4.