World No.6 Roger Federer remains on course for the Sunshine double at the Miami Open after overcoming a relentless Tomas Berdych 6-2, 3-6, 7-6(6), in the quarter-finals.
Cheered on by the Miami crowd, proceedings in Miami started according to the expectations. Federer’s non-stop aggression against the Czech enabled him to breezed through the opening set in just 27 minutes. Even Berdych was in admiration of some of the stunning shots produced by the 18-time grand slam champion.
How does he do it?#MiamiOpen pic.twitter.com/9JQB2rBDls
— Tennis TV (@TennisTV) 30 March 2017
Federer’s emphatic start to the encounter came to a halt thanks to Berdych’s impressive resurgence. Refusing to give in, an inspired world No.14 grabbed the critical break towards the closing stages of set two. That break alone was enough for him to take the proceedings into a decider. It was a milestone for the 31-year-old in his rivalry with the former world No.1. Berdych had lost 16 consecutive sets to Federer, last winning one four years ago at the 2013 Doha Open.
Federer’s approach to the finish line was one that left the crowd in shock and his camp in silence. Failing to convert a trio of break points in the decider, a deep return on his fourth opportunity granted him the lead for 4-2. The Australian Open champion seemed destined for a straightforward end to the tricky encounter, but it was far from it. The seemingly invincible Federer succumbed to the pressure of closing the match out as a nightmare service game brought his opponent back into the match.
One match point came and went for Federer at 5-4 as Berdych continued to invest all he had onto the court. A 120 mph second serve prevented the Czech from going out as he battled to level 5-5 on route to a tiebreaker.
With everything to play for, chances came and went for both players. Berdych seemed destined to secure his first Federer scalp since 2014 as he battled to 6-4, gifting him two match points of his own. Still the Czech couldn’t prevail. A deep Federer return followed by a swift serve down the line allowed the crowd favourite to claw his way back and level 6-6. Berdych’s heavy investment into the match eventually ended in heartbreak when a double fault sent the world No.6 into the Miami semifinals.
“I definitely got very lucky at the end, but I think I showed great heart today,” Federer told ESPN. “I fought and Tomas definitely started to step it up, but it was a great match at the end.”
Awaiting Federer in the last four will be Australia’s Nixck Kyrgios, who downed Alexander Zverev in three sets.
