Roger Federer crushed 13th seed Tomas Berdych in straight sets to book his place in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
Defending champion to face James Blake in last eight
Roger Federer crushed 13th seed Tomas Berdych in straight sets to book his place in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
The world number one triumphed 6-4 7-6 (9-7) 6-3 on Monday, a far cry from his third-round scare against Janko Tipsarevic at the weekend.
That match, which took four-and-a-half hours to complete, had left some wondering if the Swiss star would be physically and mentally drained ahead of his fourth round clash.
However, Federer looked at ease against Berdych, winning in just under two hours to set up a showdown with 12th seed James Blake, who had earlier beaten Marin Cilic in straight sets, in the last eight.
Pleased
"I'm quite pleased with the result pulling up from a tough match against Tipsarevic who played a fantastic match," Federer said.
"Tomas has been playing well and he's always a dangerous guy on any surface and it's unfortunate for him, but I'm very happy and hope to keep going."
Berdych did his best to cause an upset, causing a few anxious moments for Federer after losing the opening set.
The Czech secured the first break of serve in the second, only for his opponent to break back almost immediately.
Both men looked strong on serve and it was no surprise when the set went to a tie-break, Federer taking it 9-7 after Berdych had twice made unforced errors on set point.
After scrapping to a 2-0 lead the defending champion raised his game in the third, breaking to love in the sixth game before serving out for the victory.
Next up for Federer is Blake, with the American taking hope from the way the Swiss has struggled so far at the tournament.
Blake, who beat Cilic 6-3 6-4 6-4, said: "It just shows that there's enough guys out here that can play on their best day and give him trouble.
"It hopefully can raise my spirits to know that I can do the same."
