Miami, April 2 (DPA) Tomas Berdych is aiming for another major scalp when he faces fifth-seeded Swede Robin Soderling in a semi-final at the Miami Masters.
The Czech followed up his knockout blow to Roger Federer with a defeat of Spain’s Fernando Verdasco Thursday, producing a 4-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-4 comeback to reach the semi-finals.
Just under 48 hours after sending the Swiss top seed out in the fourth round, the soft-spoken 16th seed turned his attention to number 10 Verdasco, firing 34 winners in a struggle lasting almost three hours to go through.
French Open finalist Soderling advanced in a stroll over number 13 Mikhail Youzhny 6-1, 6-4.
“I played really well from the back of the court,” said Soderling, who also beat Youzhny for the Rotterdam title in February. “I was moving well and didn’t miss much.
“But I didn’t serve quite the way I wanted to. Hopefully, I can improve on that tomorrow.”
Soderling would try to get past the semi-final he reached at Indian Wells, where he lost to Andy Roddick.
Verdasco was unable to capitalize on his early momentum against Berdych but did hold off the persistent Berdych attack by saving seven of nine break points before going down.
“It was a great match, definitely,” Berdych said. “The beginning was a little bit slow for me. I was still feeling tired after the long, long match against Roger.”
Three-time women’s champion Venus Williams broke through for her first finals appearance at the event in nearly a decade as the third seed held off Frenchwoman Marion Bartoli 6-3, 6-4.
The victory puts the 29-year-old into the Saturday title showdown against Kim Clijsters, who won a battle of Belgians over Justine Henin 6-2, 6-7 (3-7), 7-6 (8-6).
It was the second meeting in two months of the comeback pair, who both quit the game at the top of their form but later returned.
Clijsters beat Henin in early January for the Brisbane title and now stands 12-10 in the compatriot series.
Henin, playing her fourth event since coming back after 18 months away, was broken six times while holding off US Open winner Clijsters on seven of 14 break points.
Williams took just under 90 minutes to construct her victory over Bartoli, whom she beat for the 2007 Wimbledon trophy.
Williams has now won 15-straight matches with titles in Dubai and Acapulco this year.
She lifted the Miami trophy in 1998, 1999 and 2001 and reached the semi-finals in 2005 and 2009. Bartoli was playing her first semi-final of 2010.
The winner said she already has a plan for the final: “My main goal is to obviously execute my game. That’s pretty much it, so I don’t necessarily get so focused on who’s across the net. I’m really focused on the task at hand with me when I get a chance to hit the ball.”
rounak