Federer reaches Aussie Open semi final
Defending champion Roger Federer argued with an umpire but still beat Tomas Berdych for the ninth time running to reach the Australian Open semi-finals.
Despite the 7-6(1) 6-3 6-4 scoreline, it was not all smooth sailing against the Czech player for the 36-year-old as he arrived in the last four of a grand slam for the 43rd time -- and the 11th time without dropping a set.
Federer railed early on, but 19th seed Berdych faltered when serving for the first set at 5-3 when he was infuriated by the malfunction of the Hawkeye video replay.
Berdych had one set point which Federer aved with a sweetly-struck backhand and another backhand went past him to give the Swiss the break back.
The second seed turned on the style in the tiebreak, allowing Berdych a solitary point, and then wrapped up the second set with a single break of serve.
Berdych could have thrown in the towel when he fell behind in the third set, but kept Federer on his toes by breaking back.
It only delayed the inevitable, though, as Federer broke again and completed the job with a love service game to set up a meeting with South Korean sensation Chung Hyeon for a place in the final.
Published: by Radio NewsHub