Federer, Serena capture Madrid Open crowns in different fashion

Madrid, Spain (AHN Sports) – CONTRASTING fashion, same result.

Swiss tennis star Roger Federer had to rally from a set down while former No. 1 Serena Williams’ route to the Madrid Open title was easier.

 Federer defeated No. 6 Thomas Berdych of the Czech Republic, 3-6, 7-5, 7-5, on Sunday to win his fourth title this year while Williams turned back No. 1 Victoria Azarenka of Belarus, 6-1, 6-3, in just 64 minutes for her 2nd crown in 2012.

While winning his third Madrid Open title, the victory also vaulted Federer to the No. 2 spot, overtaking Rafael Nadal of Spain and holding the position for the first time since

“It is amazing to win here again,” said Federer, who won in Madrid in 2006 and 2009. “It has been a tough tournament. Tough to move, but you’ve got to try to make the most of it. Here there was some good tennis and some bad tennis, but you see that in all tournaments,” he added.

Berdych, who had beaten Federer in three of their previous five meetings, had an outstanding start, hitting 14 winners while making just two unforced errors in the opening set.

In the second set, Federer found his rhythm, breaking Berdych twice to force third set where he finally finished off the Czech netter after 2 ½ hours of play.

For her part, the 13-time Grand Slam winner Serena captured the first four games and received little resistance along the way from Azarenka, who smashed her racked in frustration in the second set.

“I can still do better,” said Williams, who skipped 2011 because of illness.

“This is really good. I have been working hard. I had some tough battles and really unfortunate circumstances so I really love this,” added Serena, who now has 41 career singles titles.

Meanwhile, Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spain defeated Kevin Anderson, 6-4, 7-5, in the opening round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia in Rome, Italy on Sunday.

Other opening-round games saw Victor Troicki disposing of Filippo Volandri, 4-6, 6-4, 6-3 and Andreas Seppi beating Denis Istomin, 6-4, 3-6, 6-3.

Paolo Lorenzi turned back Nikolay Davydenko, 6-3, 2-6, 6-3, Florian Mayer prevailed over Milos Raonic, 7-6 (5), 6-4), and Mikhail Youzhny beat Thomas Belluci, 6-2, 3-6, 6-3 in the first round.

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