Breaking down the Federer-Kyrgios tiebreaker

The night crowd at the Miami Open semifinal roared with applause when 18-time major winner Roger Federer squeaked past the mercurial Nick Kyrgios 7-6 (11), 6-7 (11), 7-6 (7). Three tiebreakers and over three hours of drama led to breathtaking takeaways on Twitter.

Volumes could be written about the first three sets, but the climactic final tiebreaker had as many plot twists as The Iliad. The most memorable occurred as follows:

Kyrgios did everything right to win the opening point, but the Swiss Maestro pulled out a beautiful flick backhand winner down the line.

Meanwhile Kyrgios felt the heat from the Miami crowd—who could hardly restrain their joy when a challenge replay showed that Federer had evened the tiebreaker at 3-3. It was pandemonium equivalent to  a World Cup soccer final.

Leading 4-3, Kyrgios scorched a forehand that Federer somehow caught and volleyed. Somewhere, Stefan Edberg was nodding his approval.

Kyrgios had the match on his racket with 5-4 and pending two serves, but a spectator's "out" call distracted him and cued his immediate errant forehand. It was too much for Kyrgios, who repeatedly yelled for the offender in the crowd to “Shut the ... up.” The chair umpire asked that everyone would respect both players as crowd support continued to rain down for Federer.

We've seen this ending before: Federer would not be denied. Through a messy finish and slim margins, the Swiss Maestro lives on.

Kyrgios must have felt that his heart, more than his racket, was in pieces when he walked off the court, but he later sent his respects to the 35-year-old.

Could anything top off this thriller? Well, tennis fans get a third Federer-Rafael Nadal match in 2017.

Federer’s two Miami titles came in 2005-06 when he defeated Nadal and (current coach) Ivan Ljubicic in respective finals. Nadal is seeking his first Miami title after four final appearances.

They’ll both be front and center on Sunday afternoon.