Federer to face Berdych in final

Roger Federer of Switzerland in action at the Madrid Open.

Roger Federer of Switzerland in action at the Madrid Open.

Published May 12, 2012

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Madrid – Roger Federer moved a step closer to a record-equalling 20th Masters title when he thumped Janko Tipsarevic 6-2 6-3 at the Madrid Open on Saturday to set up a final showdown with Tomas Berdych.

The Swiss maestro, whose 19 Masters titles put him one behind record holder Rafa Nadal, stroked 25 winners on the blue clay of the Manolo Santana show court as he chases a fourth title of the year that would lift him above Nadal to number two in the world.

Seventh seed Tipsarevic could not reproduce the form that helped him to a shock quarter-final win against top seed and Serbian compatriot Novak Djokovic on Friday and has now lost all five of his meetings with Federer.

Federer came into the tournament following a month-long rest and the 30-year-old is looking in ominous form as the world's top players prepare for the French Open starting in Paris later this month.

The 2009 Madrid champion has won titles this year in Rotterdam, Dubai and Indian Wells and has only lost three times since falling to Djokovic in the U.S. Open semi finals last September.

Berdych reached a Masters final for only the third time when he edged out Juan Martin Del Potro 7-6 7-6 in a gripping claycourt slugfest earlier on Saturday.

The Czech sixth seed, who won the Paris Masters in 2005 and was runner-up in Miami two years ago, produced when it counted in the tiebreaks as the powerfully-built pair, who are both just under two metres tall, sent the ball fizzing back and forth.

Del Potro, the 10th seed, looked to be struggling more than his opponent with the slippery surface and also clashed with the umpire over a couple of line calls, refusing to shake his hand at the end of the match.

It was a desperately close contest, in which both players won a total of 79 points and broke each other's serve twice, but Berdych managed to club 41 winners to Del Potro's 30 and smashed down 15 aces to the Argentine's six.

Berdych has lost 10 of his 14 meetings with Federer, but ended his dream of Olympic singles gold in Athens in 2004 and also knocked him out of Wimbledon in the quarter-finals two years ago.

Federer won both their matches on clay, however, at the Hamburg Masters in 2005 and the 2006 French Open.

Djokovic and Nadal have slammed organisers over the introduction of blue clay for this year's edition, which they say creates a dangerously slick surface, and both have threatened not to return next year unless the traditional red dirt is reinstated.

Nadal was beaten in the third round by Fernando Verdasco, his first loss to his Spanish compatriot in 14 meetings and his first defeat on clay in 23 matches.

“I always say that the conditions are the same for everyone but it's there for all to see that's it very difficult here,” Del Potro told a news conference. – Reuters

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