Roger Federer and Tomas Berdych will go head-to-head in the men’s quarter-final’s at the Australian Open. Join The Roar for live scores from 7:30pm (AEDT).
Federer has continued his career renaissance at the beginning of 2018, winning all four of his Australian Open matches in straight sets.
The World No.2 hasn’t skipped a beat, with his form being impeccable against some gutsy opposition. The seemingly ageless Federer answered his critics in his fourth-round match, playing during the day during hot conditions in Melbourne.
Some have criticised Federer for reports he has requested to play at night, with the obvious advantage being more favourable temperatures. However, his fourth-round demolition of Marton Fucsovics shows that Federer is comfortable regardless of the conditions.
Through four rounds, Federer has spent just a touch over seven-and-a-half hours on-court as he has cruised through with relative ease.
He won his first-round match against Aljaz Bedene 6-3, 6-4, 6-3, and followed this with a slightly tougher 6-4, 6-4, 7-6 (7-4) second-round victory over Jan-Lennard Struff.
FedEx then faced some tougher, more established competition against 29th-seed Richard Gasquet in the third-round, 6-2, 7-5, 6-4. The fourth-round match against Fucsovics saw Federer win 6-4, 7-6 (7-3), 6-2.
Federer’s opponent, Tomas Berdych is undoubtedly Federer’s toughest challenge of the tournament so far. The 19th-seeded Berdych has been playing some of the best Tennis of his career.
Berdych had a small scare against Australian wildcard sensation Alex De Minaur in the first-round, dropping a set in his 6-3, 3-6, 6-0, 6-1 victory. He played another four-setter in the second-round against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, winning 6-3, 2-6, 6-2, 6-3.
Berdych then turned his fortunes around dramatically in the third-round, annihilating 12th-seed Juan Martin del Potro in straight sets, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2. Berdych followed up this impressive performance in the fourth-round against 25th-seed Fabio Fognini 6-1, 6-4, 6-4.
Berdych has gotten better as the tournament has progressed, performing better against seeded players than unseeded players.
Federer has had Berdych’s number in 76 per cent of their showdowns, leading the ledger 19-6. Federer will be looking to take that total to 20, while Berdych will be hoping his increasing momentum will aid him.
Prediction
Berdych has been playing very well this tournament, however, it would be plain silly to bet against Federer. He is yet to drop a set and he will be the fresher player heading into this match. Berdych may threaten to take a set, although that is a stretch.
Federer to win in three sets.
Regardless of the result, the 26th meeting between these two standout players is sure to be one of the tournament’s best. We’ve seen many shock results over the past week, and stranger things have happened than a Berdych upset.
Tune into The Roar’s live coverage of this men’s quarter-final from 7:30pm (AEDT), and be sure to comment your thoughts below.
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