Berdych Stuns Top-Seeded Federer in Flushing
Five-time U.S. Open champion and 2012 top-seeded Roger Federer was stunned by the sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych 7-6(1), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 in the quarterfinals of the 2012 U.S. Open. This marks the first time that Federer has not advanced to at least to the semifinals of the Open since 2003.
The key to the match was unforced errors, as Federer made 40 of them which allowed Berdych many easy points as Federer showed the rust of a man who hadn’t played a match since Saturday (due to the withdrawal of Mardy Fish) . Berdych, meanwhile, didn’t need too much help on this night as he played superbly and didn’t seemed fazed by the Evening Session crowd on Arthur Ashe Stadium Court who were clearly pro-Federer. Berdych kept his errors low with only 21 and added 30 winners as the stats indicate how well he played.
”There is no better moment than this one so far,” said Berdych. Berdych is one of a few players who has had relative success against Federer. This victory marks the second time he has beaten Federer in a major, the last time coming in 2010 at Wimbledon.
Berdych won the first set in a tie-breaker then managed to break Federer twice in the second set en route to a two set lead. He also led 3-1 in the third set in what looked to be a straight-set win, before Federer responded and broke Berdych twice to force a fourth set. The fourth set was 2-2 before Berdych took control for good by breaking Federer and then holding serve three games later to finish out the match.
Next up for Berdych is a men’s singles semifinals matchup with the number three seed, Great Britain’s Andy Murray on Saturday afternoon. Murray was a 3-6, 7-6(4), 6-2, 6-0 winner earlier in the day over Croatia’s Marin Cilic at Louis Armstrong Stadium.
Credit photo to Kenneth B. Goldberg
Sixth-seeded Tomas Berdych was a 7-6(1), 6-4, 3-6, 6-3 upset winner over top-seeded Roger Federer in the quarterfinals of the 2012 U.S. Open
