Madrid, Spain (Sports Network) - Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic topped
Argentina's Juan Martin del Potro in the first of Saturday's semifinals at the
Madrid Open.
Berdych claimed a pair of tiebreakers for the 7-6 (7-5), 7-6 (8-6) win and
will meet the winner between Roger Federer and Janko Tipsarevic in Sunday's
final.
The sixth-seeded Berdych will try for his eighth career title and second of
2012. He beat Gael Monfils for the Montpellier crown back in February and had
been a semifinal loser twice since that triumph.
One of those losses came against del Potro in Rotterdam. He also lost to Novak
Djokovic in the Monte Carlo semifinals last month.
Del Potro, who went on to lose to Federer in the Rotterdam finale, was trying
for his third title of 2012. He won at Marseille in February and again at
Estoril just last week. Saturday's setback snapped a 10-match winning streak.
Federer is a two-time Madrid champion, having captured the crown in 2006 and
again in 2009. He was also the runner-up in 2007 and 2010.
The 30-year-old Swiss native has already won three titles in 2012, earning the
crowns in Dubai and Indian Wells in addition to the Rotterdam championship. He
would overtake Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal for No. 2 in the world with a
title this weekend.
Tipsarevic is coming off a stunning quarterfinal win over fellow Serb Djokovic
on Friday.
The 2012 Madrid titlist will earn $770,000.
The Sports Network