Roger Federer v Tomas Berdych – Rogers Cup preview
Roger Federer has the chance to take some small revenge on Tomas Berdych when they meet in the quarter-finals of the Rogers Cup in Toronto, after the Czech secured an upset quarter-final win over the defending champion at Wimbledon this summer.
It was a result that marked Federer’s first loss at Wimbledon before the final since 2002, when he was defeated in the first round. The years that followed yielded six Wimbledon titles for the Swiss, with his only defeat between 2003 and 2009 coming in the 2008 final, when current world No. 1 Rafael Nadal held up the silverware at the All England Club for the first time in his career.
Berdych followed his four-set win over Federer with a semi-final victory over third seed Novak Djokovic, before Nadal handed him defeat in his maiden Grand Slam final.
The result, which came hot on the heels of the Czech’s semi-final showing at the French Open, marked a coming of age of sorts for Berdych, as talent and potential met maturity and patience. The result was a potent combination that has seen the 24-year-old crack the top-10 and earn a place among the genuine challengers to the Federer and Nadal dominance at the top of the game.
It’s now up to Federer to again stamp his authority on an opponent that, prior to this year’s Miami Masters, he held an 8-1 winning record against. That record has now become 8-3, with Berdych surviving a match point to Federer to secure an upset round-of-16 win over the 16-time Grand Slam champion in Miami, and backing that win up at Wimbledon.
Neither player, however, has had an easy time getting to this stage of the tournament, with Berdych pushed to three sets in his third round match against Ukrainian Alexandr Dolgopolov, while Federer at one stage trailed his third round opponent Michael Llodra 1-4 in the first set before ultimately clinching the 7-6(2), 6-3 victory.
Now for the match the former world No. 1 will surely be desperate to win.
“I definitely have to go back, and think what didn't go so well against him and what did work well,” said Federer heading into the Toronto quarter-final against Berdych, and seeking to build momentum ahead of the US Open.
"It will bring back memories, some not so nice. Hopefully I can get him back,” Federer said.
Berdych will no doubt have other ideas.
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