Not Rafael Nadal or even Novak Djokovic, but Carlos Alcaraz has a similarity with Roger Federer in his career when it comes to the Miami Open. Co-incidentally, both Alcaraz and Federer played the final of the Miami Masters before turning 21. And the finals they played at the Miami Masters was the first one for both the players in a Masters 1000 tournament.
Roger Federer qualified for the 2002 Miami Open final when he was just 20 years old. It was his first-ever Masters final and it was a memorable year for Federer. He was the 12th-seeded player in the tournament and started his campaign with a thumping 6-1, 7-6 (8-6) win over Jeffrey Alan Morrison. He then defeated Albert Portas 6-4, 6-1 in the third round, and got a walkover against Tim Henman in the fourth round. The score was 6-2, 0-0.
Federer dominatingly beat Andrei Pavel 6-1, 6-1 in the quarter-final, and found one of the tougher opponents in Lleyton Hewitt in the semi-final. Hewitt was in supreme form that year. He was coming on the back of his US Open title win and went on to win the Wimbledon in 2002. However, he lost 3-6, 4-6 to a young Federer.
In the final, however, Federer’s opponent wasn’t so kind to him. It was legendary 8-time Grand Slam winner Andre Agassi. Agassi beat Federer 6-3, 6-3, 3-6, 6-4 in the final, but left an indelible memory and a learning experience for the Swiss.
Just like Federer, Carlos Alcaraz played his first-ever Miami Masters final in 2022, exactly 20 years later. Playing as the 14th-seeded player, Alcaraz started his campaign against Marton Fucsovics, beating him 6-3, 6-2 in the second round. In the third round, he beat Marin Cilic 6-4, 6-4 and won against Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5, 6-3 in the fourth round.
The quarter-finals were a bit tough, where he beat Miomir Kecmanovic 6-7 (5-7), 6-3, 7-6 (7-5). In the semi-finals, Alcaraz won 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (7-2) against Hubert Hurkacz. The only difference with Federer’s 2002 campaign lies in the fact that Alcaraz actually won the final and the, therefore, the title. He beat Casper Ruud 7-5, 6-4 in the final. He will play in the Miami Open 2024.
Can Carlos Alcaraz match Roger Federer’s legacy?
After losing that 2002 Miami Open final to Andre Agassi, Federer reached the Miami finals 4 more times. He won every single of those finals, tallying his Miami Masters titles at 4. In 3 out of those 4 years, Federer had also won the Indian Wells title. This meant he completed the Sunshine Doubles 3 times in his career.
Federer won the Miami Open in 2005, 2006, 2017, and 2019. They were against Rafael Nadal (in 2005 and 2017), Ivan Ljubicic (2006) and John Isner (2018) respectively. He also won the Indian Wells title in 2005, 2006, and 2017 against Hewitt, James Blake, and Stan Wawrinka respectively. Federer’s first IW victory came in 2004.
Now, Carlos Alcaraz stands a chance to complete his first Sunshine Double before turning 21. He has already won the Indian Wells twice now (2023 and 2024), and the Miami Open once in 2022. He could very well go on to win the Miami Open this year and not only match but surpass Federer’s legacy in the future.
