MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. (AP) -- Ashleigh Barty waited six hours to get her spot in the Miami Open women's final. Denis Shapovalov needed to pull off yet another comeback to earn his berth into the semifinals. Roger Federer, meanwhile, made winning seem relatively easy. And Simona Halep's chance to return to No. 1 in the world fell apart against Karolina Pliskova. Federer is back in the Miami semifinals, the No. 4 seed winning the first eight games of his match and eventually ousting sixth-seeded Kevin Anderson 6-0, 6-4 as part of a very long, very soggy Thursday at Hard Rock Stadium. He won a marathon ninth game of the final set to break Anderson for a 5-4 lead, then served it out at love. ''I got a bit lucky there at the end,'' Federer said. ''But it was a great fight by Kevin and of course I enjoyed the match.'' Anderson hadn't lost a set 6-0 since October 2016 - 353 sets ago. He rallied from a break down to get back on serve in the second, before Federer took control at the end. ''They just don't happen often enough,'' Federer said of that 6-0 first set. ''I think I played a really, solid, nice first set with very few mistakes.'' Mistakes doomed Halep, who lost to fifth-seeded Pliskova 7-5, 6-1. Pliskova was up 5-0 in the second set when play was interrupted - for at least the sixth time Thursday - by rain shortly before midnight. Halep, the No. 2 seed, would have replaced Naomi Osaka as the top-ranked women's player if she won the semifinal. She led 5-3 in the opening set, and just unraveled. Pliskova won nine consecutive games before the skies opened during a changeover. After waiting about an hour for the rain to stop and the court to be dried, she needed only four more minutes of play and finished out the match at 1:11 a.m. - or 6:11 a.m. Friday in her native Czech Republic, 7:11 a.m. Friday in Halep's native Romania. So the day's winners were Federer, Shapovalov, Barty, Pliskova and the rain. Story continues ''We can't control the weather,'' Barty said. Barty walked away from tennis about five years ago, saying she was basically burned out at 17. She returned three years ago. And now at 22, she's better than ever. The 12th-seeded Barty endured enduring three rain delays on Thursday before ousting 21st-seeded Anett Kontaveit 6-3, 6-3 in the first women's semifinal. Next up is the biggest final of her singles career, against Pliskova. ''Obviously, I've been doing the right things throughout the week to put be able to put myself in a position to play for a title,'' Barty said. ''You have to go out there and embrace it.'' Barty, who will rise to a career-best No. 9 in the world ranking next week, was to take the court for the semifinal against Kontaveit at 1 p.m. Rain pushed their start time back to 2:08, and the delays were just getting started. They got three games - six minutes of tennis - in before the first in-match delay stopped things for more than two hours. They got another game in before more rain arrived, prompting another two-hour delay. At 7:32 p.m., finally, Barty could celebrate. Kontaveit fended off one match point with a forehand drop shot, but was ousted by an ace on the following point. Barty was down 3-1 in the second, but won the final five games. ''Very long day,'' said Barty, who passed the time in the locker room by drinking coffee and watching golf. ''But for me, it's an opportunity to come out and play another match.'' Federer is 37 years old. That's the combined age of the two Canadian teens in the men's semifinals - Shapovalov, 19, will face Federer on Friday night, and the 18-year-old Felix Auger-Aliassime will meet defending Miami champion John Isner of the U.S. earlier Friday. ''It's great for the game because they will carry the sport when we're long gone and we'll be sitting on the couch watching those guys slug it out,'' Federer said about the young Canadians. ''It'll be a joy to watch because not only are they great, great players but they're good people, too.'' Shapovalov reached the semifinals by beating 28th-seeded Frances Tiafoe 6-7 (5), 6-4, 6-2 - the third time in four matches at this tournament that he rallied from a set down before prevailing. And the success for Auger-Aliassime and Shapovalov in Miami follows the story of 18-year-old Canadian Bianca Andreescu winning the title at Indian Wells earlier this month. O, Canada, indeed. ''Pretty crazy. Everyone is super excited back home,'' said Auger-Aliassime, who wasn't in the top 100 of the world rankings two months ago and now will climb to No. 33 next week - if not higher. ''It's great to hear all these good comments from them. It puts a lot of belief in tennis in Canada. I think all the Canadian players from the young kids to Denis and Bianca and I, there is a lot of belief right now, so it's great to see.'' --- More AP sports: https://apnews.com/apf-sports and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports<doc-sep>Ageless Roger Federer became tennis’ first repeat champion of 2019 when he won his 101st career title Sunday by beating defending champion John Isner in the Miami Open final, 6-1, 6-4. Federer neutralized Isner’s big serve and won 32 of 35 points on his own serve. The 6-foot-10 Isner scrambled so desperately to stay in rallies that he hurt his left foot and limped badly through the final few points. Federer was the Dubai champion on March 2, and was runner-up at Indian Wells two weeks ago. He’s 18-2 this year, which stamps him as a serious threat in Grand Slams later this year, even at age 37. The first 33 men’s and women’s titles this year were won by 33 different players, including Ashleigh Barty in the Miami Open women’s final Saturday. Advertisement Federer first played at Miami as a wild card 20 years ago. He won the tournament in 2005, 2006 and 2017 before it moved to its new home this year in the Miami Dolphins’ complex. The temporary stands inside the NFL stadium were almost full for the final, but Federer quickly defused any drama, breaking in the opening game and then twice more in a first set that lasted only 24 minutes. “Champion, Roger!” a fan yelled during a lull, prompting cheers. Federer went on to earn the adjective yet again. Isner swatted 98 aces in his first five tournament matches, but against Federer he managed only nine, fewer than the 5-foot-5 Barty had in her final. Baseline rallies were a mismatch, with Federer keeping his lumbering opponent on the move until Isner would hit an errant shot. Isner first appeared to be bothered by his foot in the seventh game of the second set. He twice called a medical timeout and hobbled through the final game, losing serve and then limping to the net to congratulate Federer. Sign up for our daily sports newsletter »<doc-sep>Even if there had been more shouts and murmurs, it would have been a challenge to make them out given the poor acoustics that muffle noise even when a crowd is much bigger and more boisterous than it was for Saturday’s final. But it is Barty’s tennis that is the true classic. She has pure technique, including a potent loop topspin forehand and a powerful, match-winning serve full of disguise and power, which she generates with great leg drive and racket-head speed. Pliskova, a former No. 1 who was seeded No. 5 in Miami, leads the tour in aces. But Barty won that duel within a duel, finishing with 15 aces to Pliskova’s six and winning 86 percent of her first-serve points to Pliskova’s 66 percent. Barty can also thrive at the net (she won the United States Open doubles title last year with CoCo Vandeweghe) and can drive a two-handed backhand or hit a one-handed slice with enough bite to cause a world of geometric pain for tall players, like the 6-1 Pliskova, who thrive on higher strike zones and consistent pace. Variety, it seems, is all the rage in women’s tennis. Bianca Andreescu, the 18-year-old Canadian wild card who made a stunning run to the title at Indian Wells, also has a diverse array of weaponry and, like Barty, a pronounced midrally taste for changing rhythm. “I have always tried to bring as much variety onto the court as possible,” Barty said. “It’s always about trying to neutralize what your opponent’s doing. Obviously, there was a bit of a phase in women’s tennis where there was this big power and first strikers that were getting on top of rallies early. But I think the physicality in tennis, especially on the women’s side, has grown, which has allowed more players to neutralize off that big first ball and work their way into points.” She proved her point repeatedly on Saturday, displaying her improved returns and tracking down Pliskova’s flat bolts in the corners and slicing them back into play. But she has ample punching power of her own and quite an upside. It is easy to see her thriving on clay (see the French Open) and grass (see Wimbledon).<doc-sep>
Aussie Ash Barty has won the biggest singles title of her career, claiming the trophy at the Miami Open. Aussie Ash Barty has won the biggest singles title of her career, claiming the trophy at the Miami Open.... Aussie Ash Barty has won the biggest singles title of her career, defeating Karolina Pliskova 7-6 (7-1) 6-3 to claim the trophy at the Miami Open. The victory has thrust the 22-year-old into the top 10, making her the first Australian to occupy those ranks since Sam Stosur in 2013. She also made history by becoming the first player from Down Under to win the Miami Open. Barty blasted a career-high 15 aces to win the final, adding a fourth WTA singles crown to her resume after victories at the 2017 Malaysian Open and last year at Nottingham and Zhuhai, China. Barty, who took home a $US1.3 million top prize, lost her only prior WTA final this year in January in Sydney to Czech Petra Kvitova in a third-set tiebreak. Seventh-ranked Pliskova, who ousted Barty in the fourth round of last year’s US Open, failed to claim her 13th career title and second of the year after a win in Brisbane in January. “It was important for me to try and continue to make it physical,” Barty said. “I knew I had to have my running shoes on to try and make as many balls as possible. “You don’t get these opportunities every single day so it was important for me to continue to try and do the right things and enjoy the moment as well.” The Queenslander pointed to Wimbledon last year — where she was knocked out of the singles draw in the third round — as a turning point in her career and she’s travelled on an upward trajectory since then. “It’s been a phenomenal two weeks,” Barty said. “A bit of a turning point was Wimbledon last year. We’ve been able to roll with it and we've played some really good tennis since then.” Barty overcame Stosur in the second round then dismissed Kvitova in the quarter-finals en route to the last weekend of the Miami tournament and was clinical as she surged to her straight sets win in the decider. The Australian No. 1 was 3-1 down against 27-year-old Pliskova but responded with excellent shot-making to force a tiebreak and outclass the Czech world No. 7 by winning six straight points for the first set. Pliskova, who was also competing in her first Miami final and whose semi-final win over Simona Halep finished after 1am local time due to rain delays, fought off four break points before submitting on a fifth as Barty built a 3-1 second set advantage. From there, the fatigued Czech put up little resistance with Barty firing down 15 aces during the match to secure the biggest title of her career in one hour and 40 minutes, pumping her fists when Pliskova sent a forehand long on match point. Congratulations @ashbar96 - you did it! The @MiamiOpen title and into the top 10 where you belong. More titles await for this humble Aussie, exciting times! — Rod Laver (@rodlaver) March 30, 2019 Ashleigh "Ash" Barty, one of tennis's great talents and shotmakers, wins her biggest title yet. Wins the Miami Open with 7-6 (1) 6-3 victory and brilliant performance over Karolina Pliskova. Will be the 1st Aussie woman in the top 10 since Sam Stosur in 2013 — Christopher Clarey (@christophclarey) March 30, 2019 With AAP