Thanks to Roger Federer, we do not have to sit through another matchup between Tomas Berdych and Kevin Anderson. Berdych-Anderson, of course, has produced one of the most lopsided head-to-head records in recent memory. The Czech has won all 12 of their previous encounters, all of which took place in a three-year span from 2012 through 2014.
Instead, we will get to see what should be a far more entertaining affair involving Federer and Berdych during quarterfinal action at the Internzionali BNL d’Italia on Friday. That’s because Federer got the best of Anderson 6-3, 7-5 on Thursday.
The 33-year-old Swiss was in control the whole way until a hiccup from out of nowhere starting at 5-2 in the second set. He twice failed to serve out the match, first in the eighth game of the set and again in the 10th. But Federer broke at 5-5 and finally sealed the deal with a hold in the 12th game.
Federer-Anderson highlights:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f4kBgRjJWyc]
“I had to adjust and react differently in today’s match than yesterday’s match,” said the world No. 2, who won his opener in straight sets against Pablo Cuevas. “It was so different because it’s Kevin and his amazing serve. There’s only so much you can do on the return games. The first thing was not to get frustrated, because I was not seeing where he was serving.
“But thankfully I got off to a really good start in both sets. From then on I could relax almost. I was able to break him four times, which was a really good effort in the quick conditions here in Rome.”
“But thankfully I got off to a really good start in both sets. From then on I could relax almost. I was able to break him four times, which was a really good effort in the quick conditions here in Rome.”
Berdych had a much tougher day at the office, as he needed two hours and 34 minutes to get past crowd favorite Fabio Fognini 6-3, 3-6, 7-6(2). The fifth-ranked Czech once led by a set and a break before the Italian stormed back. In the end, though, it was not to be for the energized fans on Court Pietrangeli.Berdych-Fognini highlights:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yb-6x-2B4Y][polldaddy poll=8867115]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3yb-6x-2B4Y][polldaddy poll=8867115]
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