Roger Federer has made history by becoming the oldest ever winner of the Miami Open courtesy of a straight-sets victory over Rafael Nadal this evening.
The two great rivals met for the 37th time in their storied careers at the same venue as their first ever contest 13 years ago, and it was the 35-year-old Federer who claimed his third title of 2017 with a 6-3 6-4 victory.
It was a 17-year-old Nadal who came out on top in their third-round Miami Open clash in 2004, but the Spaniard's hoodoo at the competition continued as he made it five finals without lifting the trophy.
It was the 23rd final between the pair, and Nadal tested whether the ageing legs of Federer felt any fatigue from his three-hour epic with Nick Kyrgios in the open game by quickly earning two break points.
Federer fought back to hold, though, and it was a similar story throughout the set as only two games went by without a break point before the Swiss finally made the most of his sixth of the match.
That proved to be enough for Federer to wrap up the opener 6-3, putting the 18-time Grand Slam champion on course for a fourth consecutive win over Nadal - the first time he has ever achieved that during the rivalry.
A solitary break in the penultimate game was the difference again in the second set as Federer took it 6-4 to lift his third title in Miami and his first since 2006.
Barney Corkhill
