Toronto: Roger Federer advanced to the semifinals of the Rogers Cup with a 6-3, 5-7, 7-6 (5) victory over Tomas Berdych on Friday night.
Federer had lost to the No. 7-ranked Czech twice this season, most notably in the quarterfinals at Wimbledon.
"It's good to stop him and it's good for my confidence," Federer said. "I tried to take out a few things from Wimbledon but out there, I was thinking of the Miami match. It played out similar except this time I made it."
Federer will take on the No. 2-ranked Novak Djokovic of Serbia on Saturday in one semifinal. Djokovic ousted French challenger Jeremy Chardy 6-2, 6-3 in 72 minutes.
"He's a big champion and he showed why he's one of the best," Djokovic said about Federer. "It's going to be a tough one but in the semifinals, you never know what's going to happen."
With No. 1 Rafael Nadal and No. 4 Andy Murray also winning their quarterfinal matches on Friday, it marks the first time since last August in Cincinnati that the top-four ranked players in the world — the same foursome but with different rankings — have all advanced to the semifinals of a tournament.
Federer broke serve in the first set to take a 4-2 lead and then dominated the next game with four straight points to push his advantage.
Berdych fought back to take the next game with powerful serves, but Federer used his imposing forehand shots from the baseline to take the opening set.
Down 6-5 and holding serve in the second, Federer committed a rare double fault and two unforced errors, leading Berdych to the pivotal break point where he made no mistake.
"It was one of those matches that felt like it was going to slip away again like the beginning of the season," Federer said. "That I was able to turn it around is huge at this point."
Federer looked to be in trouble again in the third set when Berdych broke his serve to move ahead 3-1. But Berdych wasn't able to convert his chances on a 5-2 lead and Federer rallied to force the tiebreaker and thrill the crowd.
"The crowd was absolutely amazing," Federer said. "You rarely get those kind of atmospheres... It's nice to get the support."
"It's all right... I'm happy that so many people just came to see, and they were enjoying, so just let them enjoy," Berdych said.
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