Roger Federer: Novak Djokovic claim made about Miami Open win, Jimmy Connors truth

That’s the verdict of tennis expert Catherine Whitaker.

The Swiss icon defeated defending champion John Isner 6-1, 6-4 in Sunday’s final at the Hard Rock Stadium.

Federer wrapped up his fourth Miami crown and the 28th Masters 1000 success of his 21-season career on the ATP Tour in just an hour and three minutes.

The 20-time Grand Slam champion, however, was not always in such sublime form in the early stages of the tournament.

That’s according to Whitaker, who believes the 37-year-old changed dramatically throughout his time in south Florida.

And she believes a key reason for Federer’s improved showings was world No 1 Djokovic’s fourth-round loss to Roberto Bautista Agut, with the Serbian having been strongly tipped to go deep into the event.

Whitaker also suspects that that while Federer has himself said he has no ambition to chase down Jimmy Connors’ all-time record of 109 tour singles title, the star secretly believes he can close in on the American having now reached three straight finals. 

“His performance against Radu Albot, that was not the performance of someone who was going to go on and win that tournament. No way,” Whitaker told The Tennis Podcast.

“I underestimated the determination of Roger Federer to win that title. 

“I thought he looked like grumpy Federer, really grumpy and I thought he might not fancy it. 

“I think Djokovic going out helped, his eyes lit up and he thought, ‘Hey this is a big chance for me to get a big title.’ 

“As much as he tells us he isn’t thinking about No 109 or No 110, I believe it’s there somewhere. 

“I think his eyes lit up, that was a big thing.”

Whitaker believes the turning point in Miami was Federer’s fourth-round clash against Daniil Medvedev.

She added: “Medvedev, that was sublime. He didn’t do an awful lot wrong, he had that look of shock and horror like he didn’t know what had hit him.

“Medvedev believes in himself, he’s not got baggage against Federer, I think he did go out there thinking, ‘I’ve got a shot here.’ 

“He didn’t know what had hit him after a few games. That was brutal.

“Then Kevin Anderson comes along, is 6-0, 6-2 down. He didn’t know what had hit him either.”

source: express.co.uk