5th Sep 2012 | Tennis
US Open: Federer v Berdych Tip
The Czech has won three of the last six clashes between the two and is well capable of pinching at least a set.
With the focus so firmly on ‘the big three’ in the men’s US Open it’s easy to forget that there are a few other very handy competitors still left in the draw.
Roger Federer is nothing longer than 1/5 (Ladbrokes) to beat Tomas Berdych, and he probably will, but it shouldn’t be a walkover. The Czech is evens (WilliamHill) simply to win a set, and that looks very achievable.
The case for saying that Federer won’t have it all his own way is pretty easy to make. In the last six meetings between the pair the record stands at 3-3. Berdych has only lost in straight sets once in the last seven.
The 26-year-old looks in good touch having only dropped one set in four rounds at Flushing Meadows so far - and that was a tie-break. He was commanding against number 11 seed Nicolas Almagro in the last round, winning 7-6 6-4 6-1. If he repeats that performance level then he can cause Federer some problems.
The number six seed even has Grand Slam pedigree against the Swiss star having knocked him out in four sets at Wimbledon in 2010. He doesn’t need to do anything so spectacular to win us our bet on Wednesday.
Odds correct at time of publishing: 00:14 5th Sep, 2012 but subject to change
