Roger Federer finally got a chance to play the new and improved Fernando Verdasco. Aside from the Nadal-Nalbandian matchup, I really wanted to see how Verdasco matched up against Federer and see if he was ready to get into the mix with the top four on a regular basis.
Federer prevailed in this matchup and took no time dismantling the Spaniard in a straight set victory 6-3 7-6(5) in 92 minutes of play. Verdasco played a very good match but did not play at a high level the entire match, like players have to do against Federer. He had a couple of sloppy service games in the match, and Federer took advantage.
After being down 4-1 in the second set, Verdasco rallied to put himself back into the match. He broke Federer during the seventh game of the second set and then held serve to level the set at 4-4. Verdasco broke Federer in game eleven to serve for the second set, but Federer took back the break to send the set into a tiebreak.
Verdasco then fell apart in the tiebreak. He made a mini run, but Federer eventually shut the door on the tiebreak and the match.
Though this match was not like his Australian Open performance, it was a respectable performance for Verdasco. Hopefully, he will continue improve with his new team around him and start giving the top four some trouble.
Federer will meet Andy Murray in the semifinal. Murray currently leads their head-to-head matchup 5-2. That match should be a real shootout on Saturday.
(images: AP)
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