Federer through to Miami semis

Roger Federer had to save two match points as he beat Tomas Berdych 6-2 3-6 7-6(6) in a tough, tight Miami Open quarterfinal.

Early indications were that Federer would blitz Berdych in a similar manner to their previous encounter at the Australian Open. However, after the Czech surrendered the first set 6-2, he began a fight back that took him to the cusp of victory.

A single break was enough to give Berdych the second set, pushing the match into an epic third set. With the pair trading breaks, the match was pushed to a final set tiebreak that seemed to have swung in Berdych’s favour. Serving for the match at 6-4, Berdych netted a tame groundstroke to allow the No.4 seed back in to the match.

It was the opportunity Federer was looking for. Two strong serves earned him a second match point, piling the pressure back on Berdych. It was too much for the Czech, who sent a second serve long and handed Federer a semifinal berth.

“I’m happy today to have come through somehow,” Federer said. “I definitely got very lucky at the end. But I think I showed great heart today.

“Tomas really started to step it up and it was a great match at the end.”

Berdych, meanwhile, was comfortable despite the victory: “I just lost by one point. That’s what happened. Very simple,” the Czech said post-match. “He was the one serving out the match, didn’t make it. I had a match point, didn’t make it. I had two, didn’t make it. So what else to say?”

Federer, a two-time champion in Miami (2005, 2006) will play his first semifinal at the tournament since 2011.