<p> Roger Federer dramatically fought his way into the Miami Open semi-finals with a 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (8/6) victory over Czech 10th seed Tomas Berdych on Thursday.<br /><br />The 35-year-old Swiss, who has already won the Australian Open and Indian Wells so far this year, extended his win streak over Berdych to seven matches.<br /><br />There was plenty of tension in the match-deciding tie-breaker, where Federer saved two match points and then Berdych lost on a double-fault.<br /><br />"I definitely got very lucky at the end, but I think I showed great heart today," Federer said. "I fought and Tomas definitely started to step it up, but it was a great match at the end."<br /><br />Federer will face Nick Kyrgios in the semifinals after the Australian came through an entertaining 6-4, 6-7 (9/11), 6-3 victory over 19-year-old German Alexander Zverev.<br /><br />Should Federer win Friday, there is a chance he will play Sunday's final against long-standing rival Rafael Nadal, who faces Italy's Fabio Fognini in the other semi-final.<br /><br />But Thursday could very easily have been the end of the tournament for the 18-time Grand Slam champion, who entered the match having not dropped a set over eight consecutive matches at Indian Wells and Miami.<br /><br />Berdych was broken in the opening game of the match and then Federer dealt with a break point in the second game. The Swiss was comfortable on his serve and then broke Berdych again at 4-2 to put the opening set beyond doubt. But then, the Czech dug deep and came out fighting.<br /><br />Berdych broke to go 5-3 up and took the contest into a third set, where Federer made the most of some unforced errors from his opponent to break at 4-2 but then, uncharacteristically, Federer let some sloppiness creep into his game.<br /><br />Federer was broken when serving for the match at 5-3 and was unable to convert on match-point at in the next game.<br /><br />Berdych led 6-4 in the tie-breaker but gave up two points and Federer blasted a superb ace to get in front before the double-fault from the Czech ended the contest.<br /><br />It was the second demoralizing defeat this month for Berdych. He lost at Indian Wells in the third round after leading 6-1, 5-2 against Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka.<br /><br />Asked about his frustration, Berdych said: "What should I do? Should I destroy the table? Then you see how much I'm frustrated. I don't know.<br /><br />"It's obviously not something that you want, to finish the tournament like that. But I got a lesson in the last tournament, so this is going to be fine to get over with. I think this is going to be a strawberry cake after that. It's going to be fine."<br /><br />Wozniacki-Konta final<br /><br />Britain's Johanna Konta beat Venus Williams 6-4, 7-5 in a grueling battle on Thursday to reach the WTA Miami Open final, where she will face Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark.<br /><br />Konta said she expects a big challenge ahead in order to capture her second title of the year after a Sydney crown.<br /><br />Wozniacki booked her place in the final after rallying to defeat Czech second seed Karolina Pliskova 5-7, 6-1, 6-1.<br /><br /></p>
<p> Roger Federer dramatically fought his way into the Miami Open semi-finals with a 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (8/6) victory over Czech 10th seed Tomas Berdych on Thursday.<br /><br />The 35-year-old Swiss, who has already won the Australian Open and Indian Wells so far this year, extended his win streak over Berdych to seven matches.<br /><br />There was plenty of tension in the match-deciding tie-breaker, where Federer saved two match points and then Berdych lost on a double-fault.<br /><br />"I definitely got very lucky at the end, but I think I showed great heart today," Federer said. "I fought and Tomas definitely started to step it up, but it was a great match at the end."<br /><br />Federer will face Nick Kyrgios in the semifinals after the Australian came through an entertaining 6-4, 6-7 (9/11), 6-3 victory over 19-year-old German Alexander Zverev.<br /><br />Should Federer win Friday, there is a chance he will play Sunday's final against long-standing rival Rafael Nadal, who faces Italy's Fabio Fognini in the other semi-final.<br /><br />But Thursday could very easily have been the end of the tournament for the 18-time Grand Slam champion, who entered the match having not dropped a set over eight consecutive matches at Indian Wells and Miami.<br /><br />Berdych was broken in the opening game of the match and then Federer dealt with a break point in the second game. The Swiss was comfortable on his serve and then broke Berdych again at 4-2 to put the opening set beyond doubt. But then, the Czech dug deep and came out fighting.<br /><br />Berdych broke to go 5-3 up and took the contest into a third set, where Federer made the most of some unforced errors from his opponent to break at 4-2 but then, uncharacteristically, Federer let some sloppiness creep into his game.<br /><br />Federer was broken when serving for the match at 5-3 and was unable to convert on match-point at in the next game.<br /><br />Berdych led 6-4 in the tie-breaker but gave up two points and Federer blasted a superb ace to get in front before the double-fault from the Czech ended the contest.<br /><br />It was the second demoralizing defeat this month for Berdych. He lost at Indian Wells in the third round after leading 6-1, 5-2 against Japan's Yoshihito Nishioka.<br /><br />Asked about his frustration, Berdych said: "What should I do? Should I destroy the table? Then you see how much I'm frustrated. I don't know.<br /><br />"It's obviously not something that you want, to finish the tournament like that. But I got a lesson in the last tournament, so this is going to be fine to get over with. I think this is going to be a strawberry cake after that. It's going to be fine."<br /><br />Wozniacki-Konta final<br /><br />Britain's Johanna Konta beat Venus Williams 6-4, 7-5 in a grueling battle on Thursday to reach the WTA Miami Open final, where she will face Caroline Wozniacki of Denmark.<br /><br />Konta said she expects a big challenge ahead in order to capture her second title of the year after a Sydney crown.<br /><br />Wozniacki booked her place in the final after rallying to defeat Czech second seed Karolina Pliskova 5-7, 6-1, 6-1.<br /><br /></p>