SEOpen: Andy Roddick Quarterfinal Press Conference

A. RODDICK/N. Almagro

6 3, 6 3

An interview with:

ANDY RODDICK

THE MODERATOR:  Questions, please.

Q.  Just ten unforced errors.  Are you surprised when you hear such a low number?
ANDY RODDICK:  I mean, yes and no.  I felt like I played pretty clean today.  Also, he’s a guy who takes lots of risk himself.  So, you know, you can keep it low because he’s the one kind of trying to hit the lines and being the aggressor.
So I played within the margins today, and hit it well.

Q.  Were you especially pleased the way you rallied and weren’t tempted to go for winners as early in the rally as perhaps in days and years gone by you might have been tempted to?
ANDY RODDICK:  Yeah, maybe.  Like I said, he likes to go for that, and I felt like I could hit a pretty firm ball and have him    if I was having him play pretty high risk off of either a ball that was hit pretty firm, deep and/or had the direction switched on it, that he was gonna light up the stat board with winners and unforced errors.
So that’s kind of the way I approached it.

Q.  It looked like he had some trouble returning your serves at times.  Did it feel better today?
ANDY RODDICK:  No, it’s pretty much the way my serve goes.  Sometimes.  I didn’t have a lot of aces, but any time I’m up around 70% or so first serves in, I feel like I like my chances of holding more often than not.

Q.  Any preference for the next round?
ANDY RODDICK:  Players?  Schedule?

Q.  Yeah, players.
ANDY RODDICK:  Okay.  Um, no.  I mean, they’re both playing well and playing tough.  Rafa is Rafa, and Tsonga has been rolling over guys this week playing really well.
So like everyone, I think I’m looking forward to seeing that one.

Q.  Were you watching tennis at 12:15 this morning, by chance?
ANDY RODDICK:  I was not.  I was sleeping at 12:15 this morning.

Q.  What was your reaction to Roger’s loss?
ANDY RODDICK:  I don’t know.  You know, I don’t know if there was a visual reaction.  I think Roger broke the first game of the match and I turned it off.
And, you know, they tell you he lost, obviously you’re surprised any time he loses.  But that’s tennis.  That’s why you play ‘em.

Q.  I know you said that you weren’t particularly pleased with the way you played or the results in Memphis and the other event you played this year.  But in terms of this hardcourt swing, how much in tune with your game do you feel at the moment, and what good of level have you reached in the last three weeks or so?
ANDY RODDICK:  I feel pretty good.  You know, I feel like I’m    you know, sometimes when you’re not playing well   and I alluded to this the other day   everything feels a little bit forced.
When play a lot of the matches and kind of play a high level, it feels like everything kind of slows down a little bit.  Muscle memory takes over a little bit more, and things kind of just happen.  So I think I’m at that stage right now.
Unfortunately with tennis you have to start every day and it’s a new one.  You’re playing well, but you still have to go out and do it every day.

Q.  South Florida is a hotbed for youth tennis.  You received some instruction here as well.  Can you talk about why this environment helps breed that so much?
ANDY RODDICK:  Yeah, there’s a lot of reasons, obviously the weather being probably the first one.  You can play and train year round.
Secondly, the abundance of junior tennis training facilities from here up to Bollettieri’s.  Not only for training, but it makes — a local weekend tournament and you’re getting an influx of foreign players, local players.  Obviously competition breeds success a lot of times.
You know, obviously there’s a strong South American influence, I think, in the South Florida area.  So, again, you’re getting more players, and it’s kind of become a pretty strong training area for players from South America, too.
I don’t think it’s a secret why.  I think there are a lot of reasons.

Q.  Do you still have the feeling this is home tournament for you, or not so much anymore?
ANDY RODDICK:  I think so.  You know, we don’t really live anywhere for long every year.  (Laughter.)  We’re talking about a handful full weeks every year.
You know, it still doesn’t change the fact that     living in Texas doesn’t change the fact that I was here in, what was it, ‘93 when it opened.
I was one of the hundreds of juniors they brought in.  Played junior Davis Cup here and Orange Bowl here and had my first match win here and my first win on ESPN here.
So there are a lot of memories that I don’t think go away because your postal address is different.

Q.  I assume you still have a house in Boca.  How much time are you in Texas, and I know you have the place in New York.
ANDY RODDICK:  I’m not in New York, much.  When Brooke and I have time off at the same time, we’re normally in Texas.  When I’m traveling and she has work, she’s normally in New York.
So obviously if I fly in and out and I’m through New York, you stay for a couple days here and there.
Training base is in Austin.

Q.  What sort of influence do you think you then have on America youth tennis?
ANDY RODDICK:  Do I have?

Q.  Yeah.
ANDY RODDICK:  I don’t know.  That would require me to look at myself objectively, and I’m a little biased in my opinion of myself.

Q.  Does Billie Jean travel with you is one question, and then tradition says that paper is the first anniversary gift.
ANDY RODDICK:  Yeah, we were talking about it the other day.  Stupid paper.  What do you, buy stationary?

Q.  You’re not gonna get away with that, are you?
ANDY RODDICK:  No, we had like the conversation like we don’t need gifts, and now I don’t know if that’s code for, You better get me a gift.

Q.  Yes.  I can tell you that.
ANDY RODDICK:  Yes?

Q.  Oh, yes.  I’m helping you out.
ANDY RODDICK:  Yeah?  Well, shit.  (Laughter.)

Q.  Stationary is pretty reasonable.
ANDY RODDICK:  I mean, I would feel guilty if I gave my wife stationery.  Not to ruin guys everywhere who gave stationery, but what am I gonna get, her name?  She knows her name.

Q.  Paper.  You know, paper.
ANDY RODDICK:  Oh, yeah.  Money?  No, she better give me money.  She’s had a better year professionally than I have.
What was the other question?

Q.  Billie Jean travel with you?
ANDY RODDICK:  Sometimes.  She was is out in Indian Wells for the whole thing, but now she’s    Brooke’s out in L.A. working, so she’s with her.  She kind of cruises around from place to place and normally is happy wherever that is.

Q.  Does she fit underneath when you’re on a…
ANDY RODDICK:  No.  You know, we’ve had to keep up her self esteem, because the airlines have deemed her too fat to fit on a plane.  So we have to constantly shower her with love and build up that self esteem and tell her she’s beautiful.

Q.  It’s working?
ANDY RODDICK:  Some days are better than others.

FastScripts by ASAP Sports

SEOpen: Order of Play for Thursday April 1, 2010

Thursday’s order of play at the Sony Ericsson Open will feature the remaining two men’s quarterfinals.

The full order of play can be seen below.

STADIUM start 1:00 PM
[13] M Bartoli (FRA) vs [3] V Williams (USA) – WTA

Not Before 3:00 PM
[16] T Berdych (CZE) vs [10] F Verdasco (ESP) – ATP
Almagro/Robredo vs [3]Dlouhy/Paes

Starting at 7:00 PM
[13] M Youzhny (RUS) vs [5] R Soderling (SWE) – ATP

Not Before 9:00 PM
[14] K Clijsters (BEL) vs [WC] J Henin (BEL) – WTA

COURT 2 Not beforee 4:30 pm
Clement/Tsonga vs. [4]Bhupathi/Mirnyi

SEOpen: Nadal Plays Stellar Tennis To Defeat Tsonga

Key Biscayne, Fla—No. 4 seed Rafael Nadal put on a fantastic display of athletic tennis on Wednesday evening to defeat Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France 6-3, 6-2 during the quarterfinals of the Sony Ericsson Open.

Saving eight break points throughout the 90-minute match, Nadal raced through the second set on the strength of two breaks of serve after needing 48 minutes to capture the first set.

Using his consistent topspin forehand to dictate the tempo of the baseline exchanges, Nadal persevered through some rough moments during the opening stages of match, which included playing numerous deuce point games.

Overhitting his forehand to begin the encounter, Nadal picked up his level of play to capture his fourth straight win over the Frenchman.

Tsonga, who desperately wanted to engage the crowd in a longer contest, couldn’t handled the immense drive and determination of his opponent.

Falling in his second straight Masters 1000 quarterfinal, Tsonga dropped to 14-6 on the year.

Nadal, who improved to 16-3 on the season, will next meet 2004 champion Andy Roddick in Friday’s semifinal.

Roddick defeated Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 6-3 earlier in the day.

Nadal told the crowd during his on-court interview that “I need to serve well against Andy if I want to have a chance.”

Leading Roddick 5-2 in career head-to-head meetings, Nadal remains tied with the American at two wins a piece on hard-courts.

Thursday’s quarterfinal matches will include: Mikhail Youzhny vs. Robin Soderling, and Fernando Verdasco vs. Tomas Berdych.

SEOpen: Roddick Eases Into Miami Semifinal

by: Nima Naderi

Key Biscayne, Fla—No. 6 seed Andy Roddick progressed to his fourth semifinal of the year, while recording his 28th win at the Sony Ericsson Open on Wednesday by defeating Nicolas Almagro 6-3, 6-3.

Winning the first set in 30 minutes, Roddick jumped out to a 3-0 lead in 10 minutes. Although Almagro’s weight of shot was greater than Roddick’s throughout the one hour and 20 minute affair, it was the American’s consistency and accurate serving which led him to victory.

Breaking Almagro once in the first set, Roddick continued to race through his service games before converting on his first set point.

Almagro would hold a slight chance in the second set, when he obtained a 15-40 lead on Roddick’s first service game. Continuing with his trend of stellar serving throughout the tournament, Roddick held serve before breaking Almagro to lead 4-2. Breaking the Spaniard’s serve for the final time in the match, Roddick pumped his fist in the air when Almagro sent a final backhand long.

Roddick will next meet the winner of day’s final match between Rafael Nadal and Jo-Wilfried Tsonga. I recently saw Nadal practice before his match with Tsonga, and he was ripping the cover off of the ball.

Roddick commented on his high first serve percentage, which reached close to 70 percent for the match.

“I didn’t have a lot of aces, but any time I’m up around 70% or so first serves in, I feel like I like my chances of holding more often than not,” said Roddick.

To be honest, after watching Roddick’s match today I got a better grasp of why he’s won a single Grand Slam. Although his serve can generate tremendous racket head speed, his groundstrokes (even his forehand wing) are pale in comparison to the other members of the top 10.

Nevertheless, what Roddick lacks in pop off the ground, he makes up for in fitness, court-craft and determination.

Roddick, who leads the Tour with 24 match wins on the season, trails Nadal 5-2 in career head-to-head meetings, while leading Tsonga 2-1.

Not having lost a set in the event thus far, Roddick remains hopeful of capturing his fifth career Masters 1000 title.

Speaking on whether or not he had a preference of playing Nadal or Tsonga in the semifinals, Roddick had this to say.

“I mean, they’re both playing well and playing tough. Rafa is Rafa, and Tsonga has been rolling over guys this week playing really well,” expressed Roddick.

“So like everyone, I think I’m looking forward to seeing that one.”

Nadal leads Tsonga 4-1 in career head-to-head meetings, but I wouldn’t let that mislead the possibility of an upset tonight.

As Roddick alluded to in his press conference, Tsonga has been manhandling his opponent’s throughout the event, while giving Nadal a beating at the Australian Open during their semifinal in 2008.

If Tsonga gets hot and penetrates the court with his forehand and serve, Nadal could join Federer, Djokovic and Murray on the sidelines.

I’d say that Tsonga needs the first set to win the encounter, but as Nadal proved earlier in the event against Nalbandian, the loss of the opening set is no cause for concern.

—

Some advice from Miami:

Arriving in South Florida to cover the event live today, I was reminded of why flying early and being a journalist don’t quite mix.

First, I forgot the charger for my Macbook back in Toronto, and I was forced to frantically run to a local mall and get a replacement. Wasting about an hour of tournament time in the process of getting the charger, food and sleep had become a secondary function.

Finally eating my first meal of the day at 6pm local time, I will likely need toothpicks to hold up my eyes open as I watch Nadal and Tsonga put holes in the concrete at Crandon Park.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not complaining, I just need a little pool time in the morning before covering the second pair of the men’s quarterfinals between Mikhail Youzhny vs. Robin Soderling, and Tomas Berdych vs. Fernando Verdasco on Thursday.

Talk soon tennis fans.

Quotes courtesy of ASAP.

Roger Federer: Fight But No Bite

Key Biscanye, Fla—After last night’s shocking defeat to Tomas Berdych at the Sony Ericsson Open, a disturbing thought came to my mind as I prepared to cover the rest of the tournament in Miami—will Roger Federer ever again show the required commitment necessary to capture a non-Slam title?

This becomes quite an important question, considering the standpoint of tennis fans, and journalists alike. Does an event lose its luster when Federer is defeated in the early rounds? Absolutely. Will this repetitive pattern change in the near future? I would lean more towards a negative.

Again, I’m not trying to be pessimistic here, or claiming that Federer didn’t want to beat Berdych last night, or for that matter Marcos Baghdatis in Indian Wells. Heck, the world No. 1 held match points in both encounters before coming up second. However, although Federer showed that he was somewhat engaged in his trip to the States, it was evident that his mind, and more importantly his vigor was absent.

Losing the second set against Victor Hanescu in Indian Wells (a match I was present for), Federer displayed uncharacteristic confusion while attempting to put away his Romanian opponent. Fast forward a round later in California, and Federer was ever so close to defeating Baghdatis before crashing out in the third round. Even in his second and third round victories in Miami—matches where Federer struggled against Nicolas Lapentti and Florent Serra—the 16-time Grand Slam champion was fragile and not assertive.

So what has attributed to Federer’s drop in form since winning in Australia? It appears, anyway, that the Swiss himself is perplexed by the issue.

“I’m a bit confused with how I’m feeling the ball at the moment,” confessed Federer.  ”Sometimes it flies and sometimes it doesn’t.  It’s a lot to do with how you feel at the moment.”

Continuing with his assessment of his recent play, Federer concluded that his confidence is not where it was in Australia.

“It was [his game] still the confidence lacking, and that’s what kind of cost me these last two tournaments.”

Can we take Federer’s words at face value, or can we chalk up his dismal North American swing to his upcoming French Open defense.

I’d be more inclined to go with the second option, merely because it makes the most sense. For one, Federer is entering a moment in his career that could immortalize him forever. If he can repeat at Roland Garros, Federer’s “lack of Nadal in the draw” talk would be dismissed, and the 28-year-old would hold every Slam a minimum of two times.

“I’m looking forward to the clay court season now,” admitted Federer.  ”It helps to kind of move on to a different surface.  Then this has nothing to do too much with the clay court season, and that helps.

“So I’m looking forward to that.  Definitely need to practice harder, and that’s what I’ll do.”

It will be interesting to see how Federer’s clay-court season will develop—tournaments consisting of Rome, Estoril, and Madrid leading up the French.

It would be a cause for concern if Federer was ousted early during the clay trip through Europe, and if the Swiss star plays the erratic brand of tennis he displayed in America, his confidence will continue to drop.

The one thing Federer has always banked on throughout his career has been his serve and his ability to cash in on his opportunities. Losing leads to Baghdatis, Serra and Berdych, Federer was substantially off from his renowned clutch play. Missing forehands, backhands, and squandering break points, Federer was by every definition not the top ranked player in the world.

Nevertheless, Federer leaves Miami this year in similar vein to his semifinal exit of a year ago. Losing to Novak Djokovic in the semifinals, Federer broke his racket, lost his lead, and later claimed that “he was happy the hard-court season was over.”

This year though, Federer may have the Australian Open under his belt, but his recent play in Indian Wells and Miami will not be promising heading into the dirt in Europe.

If there’s one player who can rebound, it’s Federer; he’ll just need to make sure that his bite overshadows his fight.

Quotes from ASAP.

Italian Open Gets New Stadium

The Roma Masters 1000 event, which is held May 24-April 5, will feature a new 10,500 stadium for this year’s premier clay-court event.

Hosting the best men’s players at the Foro Italico, the new $38.4 facility was funded by the Italian Olympic committee.

The official inauguration of the stadium will take place on the third day of the event.

Tournament director Sergio Palmieri described the new stadium as “the premier tennis stadium in the world in terms of visibility for fans.”

Rafael Nadal is the defending champion of the 56-man field. The Spaniard has won the event on four occasions.

Quotes from Associated Press.

Verdasco Signs With Dunlop Sports

Spanish tennis ace Fernando Verdasco has signed an international deal with Dunlop racket sports.

Previously using Tecnifbre rackets, Verdasco briefly changed to Yonex rackets while winning his first title of the year in San Jose, California.

Unhappy with his Yonex frame after play-testing the racket for two weeks, the world No. 12 changed back to Tecnifibre before signing this deal with Dunlop.

The official press release, which was posted on Verdasco’s facebook page can be found below.

March 31st 2010 – Dunlop are pleased to welcome Fernando Verdasco as the latest tennis star to join as a brand ambassador. The 26 year old Spanish ace has signed an international contract for rackets, strings and accessories, while also agreeing to play a key role endorsing Dunlop’s junior talent identification programme – D-Squad.

Verdasco capped off a successful 2009, in which he compiled his best career season by finishing in the top ten and qualified for his first year-end championship at the Barclays ATP world tour finals in London. The Madrid native also played a central part in helping his country win 2 consecutive Davis Cup titles, winning the deciding match in both years.

Verdasco commented: “Becoming a brand ambassador for Dunlop is a very proud moment for me and I look forward to joining the great players already associated with the brand. I am continuing to work hard and with the help from Dunlop I hope to be able to make this my most successful year to date.”

Barry Leach, MD of Dunlop Sport said: “Fernando is a world class addition to Dunlop and exemplifies the quality we look for at the brand. He plays an exciting style of tennis and, if he can build on last year’s performances, I would expect him to be a main fixture in the ATP top ten this year.”

Verdasco will immediately commence testing of Dunlop’s new 2011 technology.

SEOpen: Roger Federer Fourth Round Press Conference

March 30, 2010

T. BERDYCH/R. Federer

6 4, 6 7, 7 6

An interview with:

ROGER FEDERER

THE MODERATOR:  Questions, please.

Q.  Obviously backhand was off tonight.  A lot of errors.  Unusual for you.  What was the problem out there?  He was playing well, obviously.
ROGER FEDERER:  Yeah, it was a tough match.  Look, it’s no secret I’ve struggled the last, what is it, five matches I’ve played here in the States.  It’s disappointing, I think, my performance overall, if I’ve got to analyze right now after the match.
But I fought as much as I could under the understood circumstances with my game having issues at the moment.  Definitely lack timing.  I don’t know where that comes from because I played so nicely in Australia.  So it’s disappointing to not be able to back it up.
Maybe the sickness did take it out of me more than I thought.  Maybe the break was quite long.  I’m kind of used to those things, and I still, you know, think I could have done much better.
I was a couple points away this week and then also in Indian Wells had my chances.  It’s disappointing having had a chance to move on.  Maybe I had a chance to sort of turn around my game.
But, you know, we’ll see how it goes forward.

Q.  What will you do to step back and assess this one?
ROGER FEDERER:  Well, this is not stuff you can go too harshly on yourself.  I tried everything I could out there.  I thought he played a good match.  It’s hard to judge his performance, because I look at mine only.
When I’m not playing my best, it’s hard to judge my opponent, to be quite honest.  But he’s a good player, so I knew the danger coming in, especially with the timing issues I’ve had already the last couple weeks.
But I thought I worked hard enough to iron those things out.  Maybe I did.  It was still the confidence lacking, and that’s what kind of cost me these last two tournaments.
Only fuels my desire to go back to the practice courts and come back even stronger.  I don’t like to lose these type of the matches.
I’m looking forward to the clay court season now.  It helps to kind of move on to a different surface.  Then this has nothing to do too much with the clay court season, and that helps.
So I’m looking forward to that.  Definitely need to practice harder, and that’s what I’ll do.

Q.  Your first match you said that you felt the conditions were a bit strange and the balls were flying all over the place.  Do you think that was the case tonight as well, or was it different?
ROGER FEDERER:  I’m a bit confused with how I’m feeling the ball at the moment.  Sometimes it flies and sometimes it doesn’t.  It’s a lot to do with how you feel at the moment.
Tonight it definitely felt really slow.  Normally Tomas or myself serve around 10 to 20 aces a match.  It was almost impossible to get it past the other guy, you know, with the serve.
So conditions are so slow sometimes here, and then during the day they fly like crazy.  So I guess it’s got something to do with the conditions, but the issue is really my game.  The conditions, usually I get used to those after a couple matches at the latest.

Q.  Berdych, you’ve known a lot years that he has top 10 talent, right?
ROGER FEDERER:  I would think so.

Q.  What is it, consistency you think?
ROGER FEDERER:  Yeah, if you look at the top 10 the last years, they’ve always been tough.  It’s not so easy just to get in there and hang around, you know, just think it’s normal to be in there.
It definitely needs a special effort and a special sacrifice, and, you know, then you need some serious mental skills to handle the traveling and everything.  It’s not so easy.  With different surfaces and injuries, it’s demanding.
Or you do it the easy way and just win a big one.  Then you’re in if for a little bit and then you get better chances and seeds.  But I would have thought he would have made his move a long time ago to be in the top 10.
Seems like he’s coming back strong.  That’s good to see, because he’s and incredible player and he’s got incredible shots.  Almost let this match off the hook again.  He got lucky tonight.

Q.  Did you think after you won the second set that you were then gonna win the match at that point?
ROGER FEDERER:  Well, I thought it was back to even, if not maybe a slight advantage for me because I had the momentum.
It was a huge opportunity for him to maybe snatch victory in straight, because I kind of handed him the first set.  Then in the second set I had so many chances it felt like I was gonna hump me at the end and then he didn’t, so I was kind of happy with that.
Look, I never felt great the whole night.  I just fought with what I had.  I knew it was gonna be a tough third set, because thank God he wasn’t in too many of my service games in the second set, which made it a bit easier for me to relax and concentrate on the return games.
But, look, I had tons of chances at the end.  Match point was my serve, I mean, what more can I do?  I tried everything I could.  It’s just not happening for me at the moment.

FastScripts by ASAP Sports

SEOpen: Tomas Berdych Fourth Round Press Conference

March 30, 2010

T. BERDYCH/R. Federer

6 4, 6 7, 7 6

An interview with:

TOMAS BERDYCH

THE MODERATOR:  Questions, please.

Q.  What is your feeling about this incredible game?
TOMAS BERDYCH:  Yeah, well, I mean, every time after the game like that the feeling is great, even if you just saved the one match point and then win in the tiebreak of the third set.
So whatever the match goes, I’m really extremely happy, you know.  I had a chance.  I was break up in the third set.  But with Roger, you have to be always 100% ready.  You know, he’s fighting until the last point.  You know, that is how was it the court.
But anyway, I’m really happy the way I finish it.

Q.  The last time you beat him was in 2004, right?
TOMAS BERDYCH:  Yeah, Olympic Games.

Q.  Do you feel like this win is a long time coming?
TOMAS BERDYCH:  You know, already the last match before this one we played in Australia I was two sets up, so, you know, if we gonna play for just best of three sets, then I would win the match again.  But that one was different, you know, best of five sets and on the Grand Slam.
So, you know, he came strongly back and won that match, and he deserved it and played well.  This one was another chance.  I was trying to just go for it same as the match in Melbourne, and finally it happened.  I think it was the tenth our match against each other; second victory for me.

Q.  I think you were smiling after the one shot was called out, the video review.
TOMAS BERDYCH:  Yeah, I mean, well, really I was just surprised what I saw on the TV how close the ball was.
You know, it was really important one, and, you know, that just happens.  There’s no chance to just be sad or whatever, because it was really close call.
But, you know, linesman was right.  It was pretty good call for him.  I just have to smile after it.

Q.  Did you have anyone here watching besides your trainer?
TOMAS BERDYCH:  Yeah, we have couple of other friends who was here.  They were sitting with Group him in the player’s box on the other side    on the other seats.  Couple friends.

Q.  Not your parents, right?
TOMAS BERDYCH:  No, they’re at home.

Q.  Did you call them yet?
TOMAS BERDYCH:  Not yet.

Q.  Roger mentioned that he thought the conditions were very slow tonight because neither of you served a lot of aces; what are your feelings about that?
TOMAS BERDYCH:  Well, I was kind of really surprised    well, I mean, the conditions were all the day same, you know.  It was not that humid as usually here in Miami, and the temperature was not that high as always.
So it was really a cool night.  And yeah, the conditions were a little bit different.  But I think it’s as he said, the conditions were same for both of us.  Just depends who is gonna just handle those conditions better.
It was really close just for my side, about one, two points.  But the conditions were definitely different than all the other days here.

Q.  Tomas, you’ve had some big wins in your career.  Where would you rank this one and the fact that it’s Roger at a big tournament and how close it was?
TOMAS BERDYCH:  Yeah, definitely, you know, the match like this, to beat the No. 1 player in the world, the best player so far, you know, it’s great feeling, you know, just to go through.
But still, it was not a final.  There is another match waiting next day, another really tough opponent.  You know, just this one was pretty good match for me.  Just I need to take all the positive things, you know, all the confidence from this match and just go next    go for next match.  Be ready for the other one.
Then we can be let’s say talking it was good tournament with couple of good wins or something like that.  But so far, yeah, extremely happy after that match.  But I’m looking forward to next matches.

Q.  There are lots of surprises with Murray and Djokovic, and today and you Federer.  Did you think something is happening on the tour?
TOMAS BERDYCH:  No, I think this just show how the tour is pretty tough, you know, how the players are really strong, and the small difference between all the players.
Just all the credit to all those guys who are top 10.  As you can see now, so many other players, even if they are 50, 60, me, 20, can beat the top guys and can go through.
So just show how the tennis right now is so close, and that’s it.

FastScripts by ASAP Sports.

SEOPen: Federer Loses to Berdych in Miami

Key Biscayne, Fla—For the second straight tournament, top seed Roger Federer lost to a lesser foe after holding match points.

Losing the Marcos Baghdatis in the third-round of the Indian Wells event in California, Federer was defeated in the fourth-round of the Sony Ericsson Open late Tuesday night by Tomas Berdych 6-4, 6-7 (3), 7-6 (8) in two hours and 51 minutes.

Holding a match point at 6-5 in the third set tiebreak, Federer saw his chance at advancing to the quarterfinals disappear when Berdych hit a laser like forehand winner crosscourt.

Needing only one match point to advance, Berdych captured his first victory over Federer since the 2004 Athens Olympics.

The match, which was riveting, saw both players combine for a more than 100 unforced errors.

Federer’s serve wasn’t as potent as he would have liked, hitting five aces and winning only 74 percent of his first serve points. Berdych wasn’t much better with his serving statistics, striking six aces while winning 67 percent of his first serve points.

“I fought as much as I could,” Federer said. “My game has issues at the moment. I’m definitely lacking timing. I don’t know where that comes from.”

Nevertheless, an relieved Berdych was in disbelief after his victory, showing great pride to his coach Tomas Krupa.

“After a match like that, the feeling is great,” Berdych said. “I’m really happy the way I finish it.”

Federer will now return to Switzerland, where he will begin preparations for his French Open defense at the Roma Masters 1000 in Italy.

After a forgettable hard-court season, Federer will enter the clay of Europe with a 13-3 record.

“It fuels my desire to go to the practice courts, because I don’t like to lose these type of matches,” Federer said.

Berdych will head to a quarterfinal clash on Thursday against Spaniard Fernando Verdasco.

Verdasco scored an upset win earlier in the day over Marin Cilic 6-4, 7-6 (3).

Quotes from ASAP.

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