Madrid Open: Federer meets Berdych, Azarenka faces Serena in final

Madrid, Spain (AHN Sports) – Former world No. 1 Roger Federer of Switzerland Saturday cruised to the finals of the Madrid Open with an easy 6-3, 6-2 victory over 7th seed Serbian Janko Tipsarevic.

Federer squares off with Tomas Berdych, who edged Juan Martin del Potro 7-6 (5), 7-6 (6) in the other semifinal, for the top prize of 585,000 euros or about $757,000.

If the Swiss tennis star emerges victorious against Berdych, he will overtake Rafael Nadal of Spain as the world’s No. 2 player. Federer, a 16-time Grand Slam champion, has not been ranked No. 2 since March of 2011.

Nadal and world No. 1 Novak Djokovic were booted out early in the tournament and later complained about the tournament’s blue clay-court surface. Nadal lost to Fernando Verdasco in the third round while Djokovic was defeated by Tipsarevic in the quarterfinals, 7-6 (2), 6-3.

Federer had a first-round bye before beating Milos Raonic in the 2nd round, 4-6, 7-5, 7-6 (7-4). He later defeated Richard Gasquet, 6-3, 6-2, in the 3rd round and David Ferrer, 6-4, 6-4, in the quarterfinal round.

After a 1st round bye, Berdych defeated Kevin Anderson, 6-4, 6-3 in the 2nd round and Gael Monfils in the 3rd round, 6-1, 6-1. In the quarterfinals, he disposed of Fernando Verdasco, 6-1, 6-2.

On the women’s side, top seed Victoria Azarenka of Belarus and former world No. 1 Serena Williams will battle it out in the finals.

Azarenka beat Agnieszka Radwanska, 6-2, 6-4, while the 9th-seeded Williams defeated Lucie Hradecka, 7-6 (5), 6-0 in the semifinals.

In their head-to-head match-up, Williams holds a 6-1 advantage over Arazenka.

“It would be a different story this time because I’m confident with the way I’m playing right now,” said Azarenka, who is gunning for her fifth singles this year.

---

---