By James Waterson Photo Credit: Elsa/Getty Images
(August 19, 2011) Tomas Berdych defeated defending champion Roger Federer 6-2, 7-6 (3) to progress to the semifinals of the Western & Southern Open in Cincinnati on Friday.
Berdych, the World No. 9, outhit and outplayed the 16-time Grand Slam champion. He broke
Federer’s serve twice in the first set while losing only six points on his serve, and he never faced a break point in the match.
"I was winning quite easily as far as games and I was able to play something more on his serve," Berdych said. "It makes me more confident and then I can go more for the shots, especially on his second serve."
He did have three chances to break Federer at 5-5 in the second set in a game that went to seven deuces, but he was unable to capitalize.
Despite staying even in the second set, Federer played inconsistently and that came back to haunt him in the tiebreaker.
He sprayed a forehand wide to lose the first point, and although he managed to come back to 3-3 he made several more errors en route to losing the match.
"I definitely didn't feel like I was getting a great read on his serve today, and that definitely cost me a bit of maybe giving myself more opportunities and just getting into the rallies more on his service games," Federer said. "Unfortunately I didn't play a very good tie-break, and he was better than me today."
With today’s result, Berdych improved to 4-9 against Federer, and he’s won three of their last four matches.
The 25-year-old from the Czech Republic has reached at least the quarterfinals in 13 of the 17 tournaments he’s played this year.
Berdych may root for Monfils to win, as he has a 1-6 record against Djokovic and a 1-0 record against Monfils.