Federer vs Berdych: What to Expect in US Open Quarterfinals Matchup

The US Open is rolling right along, and there promises to be some excellent quarterfinal matchups as we get to the final stretch of the last Grand Slam of 2012.

Roger Federer and Tomas Berdych are set to take center stage at Arthur Ashe, with the exact time and date TBD, but it will be a night match. If the rain stays away, this may be one of the marquee matches of the tournament.

Berdych is looking for revenge against the Swiss superstar, as he was defeated on the Madrid Masters clay just under four months ago. Federer gave a 3:6 set to clean Czech hitter, but eventually overcame and won the next two sets 7:5, 7:5 for a victory.

That match was close the entire way through and this upcoming duel between the two elite tennis players should be nothing short of the same.

Federer, the No. 1 player in the world, will be the obvious favorite, but Berdych—ranked No. 7 at this time—isn’t going to just roll over against the legend.

The Czech has recorded four wins in 11 matches against Federer, with the most impressive coming at the 2010 Wimbledon quarterfinals. He’s most recently downed the Swiss at a Masters Series event in Cincinnati, which took place in August of 2011.

Keys to the match will be aggression and movement for Federer, whose opponent stands at a gargantuan 6’5”.

Berdych will need to use his elite hitting ability to advance farther in the US Open and win the first Grand Slam of his solid but unspectacular career.

Expect Federer to win, but Berdych will not make things easy on the star.