Greg Garber, Senior Writer 8y

Can Federer, Rafa push Djokovic in Miami?

Of the 96 main-draw male singles players who lined up for the Miami Open, it's quite possible only one truly believes he will win.

"My thinking and my approach is not, 'I have to win this; I'm supposed to win this,' but 'I'm going to win this,'" Novak Djokovic said to the media at Indian Wells last week, sounding a lot like Roger Federer circa 2004-09. "Then I believe in myself and I carry that confidence, and that has brought me to where I am at the moment."

Which is virtually unbeatable.

Djokovic, predictably, took the title at Indian Wells last Sunday, winning his 13th ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event of the last 21 contested. He is 22-1 this season, with the only major trophy, the Australian Open, already on the shelf at his home in Monte Carlo. Technically, that loss came to Feliciano Lopez, but it was a result of a retirement in Dubai with an eye infection. With his vision restored, Djokovic avenged that defeat, beating Lopez 6-3, 6-3 in the fourth round at Indian Wells.

There is no reason to think the 28-year-old Serb won't walk away the winner on April 3. He's done it five times in Miami and is the three-time defending champion. In the midst of a scorching streak reminiscent of Federer at his best, Djokovic, amazingly, has:

  • Won five of the past seven major titles.

  • Collected 27 Masters titles; Miami would give him the most in history, one ahead of Rafael Nadal.

  • Reached 10 straight finals of the Masters in which he's played (he skipped Madrid a year ago) and is a combined 50-2 in that ridiculous run.

How far ahead of the field is Djokovic? Miki Singh, ESPN's celebrated tennis researcher, points out that you could subtract the 7,200 points from his past four majors and he'd still be ranked No. 1 ahead of No. 2 Andy Murray, with 9,340 points to 8,370.

A year ago, Djokovic won three of the four majors for the second time, something Federer did three times and Nadal achieved in 2010. After losing to Djokovic in the semifinals at Indian Wells, Nadal reflected on his return to dominance.

"Novak was there all the time," Nadal said to the media. "Never had any injuries. So always he was waiting for his moment. When Roger was at his highest level and with highest level of confidence, too was difficult to stop him. I think for me it was a bit similar, no?

"So for him now, what's going on is he feel that [he] is probably better than the rest. And at the same time, nothing bothers him, no?"

Nadal himself looked less bothered last week in the California desert, putting together a nice run that included wins over Kei Nishikori and German teenager Alexander Zverev. This will be Nadal's 12th Miami event, and it's the only tournament he's never won with this many attempts. He's a four-time runner-up, most recently in 2014.

The leading storyline after Djokovic, though, will be the return of Federer who's been on a five-week sabbatical after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus. Federer was forced to miss Rotterdam, Dubai and Indian Wells, but he caused something of a stir when he announced he would play in Miami for only the second time in four years.

Federer is 34 years old but still a viable competitor. He's ranked No. 3 among ATP World Tour players and lost to Djokovic in the finals of 2015's last two Grand Slams and this year's semifinals in Australia. He is a two-time Miami champion, but those wins came in 2005-06.

Murray, based on his recent Miami results, might be more likely to challenge Djokovic. Murray was upset in his second match at Indian Wells by unseeded Federico Delbonis but has reached three of the past four finals at Miami. Murray has a high-rise condo in downtown Miami and has trained over the years at the University of Miami.

For Djokovic, the path is clearer. Since the beginning of the 2015 season, he's won 14 of the 20 tournaments he's entered and produced a record of 104-7.

In Indian Wells, he was asked if he ever amazed himself by rising to the occasion in critical moments.

"Well," Djokovic said, smiling, "I have been trained to do that. I work hard to be able to come up with the best game when it's the most needed."

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