KEY BISCAYNE, Fla. — Even Roger Federer cannot quite figure out why his longtime rival Rafael Nadal has never won the Miami Open.
“I think the surface is good for him,” Federer said before the tournament began. “I think it plays slower here than in Australia and Indian Wells, which gives Rafa more time to defend and use his forehand. I would expect him in the heat, in the wind, with this kind of a surface, to be very tough to beat.”
Nadal will have another chance to claim his first title here, having defeated the unseeded Fabio Fognini, 6-1, 7-5, in the semifinals Friday.