Roger Federer continued his dominance in 2017, capturing the Miami Open on Sunday (April 2) for his third title of the year with a 6-3, 6-4 victory over Rafael Nadal.
The 35-year-old Federer becomes the tournament's oldest men's champion. He also won the hard-court event in 2005 and 2006.
Federer, seeded fourth, beat No. 5 seed Nadal for the third time this year. The rivals met in the Australian Open final in January and at Indian Wells, Calif., in a fourth-round match two weeks ago. Nadal fell to 0-5 in finals on Key Biscayne.
It was the 37th meeting between the Swiss and Spaniard.
Federer, sixth in the world but projected to move up to No. 4 in the ATP rankings on Monday, fired 29 winners, including 19 off his forehand wing and five aces, in the match that took one hour and 34 minutes. He claimed two of nine break points, while turning aside all four he faced.
Federer said afterwards that he will skip the upcoming European clay court season, possibly playing the French Open, to give his body a chance to recover over before playing Wimbledon and the U.S. Open.
There are four big ATP clay events before the French Open starts in May -- in Monte Carlo, Madrid, Barcelona and Rome.
Federer, who missed the second half of last year recovering from knee surgery, has made a rousing return to the court in 2017, winning three of the four tournaments he has contested, including the Australian Open.
Though no pushover on clay, it is not his best surface.
Of his grand slam titles, 10 have come on hardcourt (five Australian Opens and five U.S. Opens), seven on grass at Wimbledon and just one on clay, the 2009 French Open.
