“It’s not just another win, but another win against a Top 10 player; against Berdych, who has played me tough in recent years," said Federer.
A semi-final meeting with No. 6 seed Milos Raonic awaits.
Federer troubled Berdych in the fifth game of the first set, earning a break point opportunity, which was promptly saved by the Czech. But in his next service game, Berdych was unable to fend off Federer as the Swiss broke for a 4-3 lead and went on to win the first set after 40 minutes.
Federer gave Berdych no wiggle room in the second set, and hit 21 winners, won 88 per cent of his first serve points and faced no break points en route to the 68-minute victory.
“When you feel that Federer is in control right from the beginning, then of course you have to come up with your best game from the beginning of the match,” said Berdych. “You just want to play well. You just want to play your best.
“There is a very thin line in between that and overdoing it. It's not so easy to control it every single time that you go play with a player like this, even if he's playing in such a good shape… He was doing pretty much everything perfect.”
“I think I really played well off the baseline,” said Federer. “I was able to utilize the court much more, play more angles, play with variation, spin and slice. I was serving well and moving well, so maybe there is not going to be that many chances for him on the return as it is. But at least he could have stayed with me longer, and as the match goes on maybe he would have also found his groove better.
“But for me, I found it quickly. I felt like I was hitting the ball well but also playing the right way. When those two things happen, it was always going to be tough for him.”
In his 15th appearance, Federer defeated Jack Sock in the Round of 16 to notch his 50th win in the desert.
Date: 21st March 2015, Source: ATP and ESPN UK
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