Day Seven: Berdych into third consecutive quarter-final

Kevin Anderson's surge in the third set leaves it too late as David Ferrer runs away with the victory and advances to the quarter-finals.

At the beginning of the match it did seem as if Berdych would storm to victory, but Kevin Anderson's surge in form in the third set left it to late for himself to fight back. Berdych secured the victory in a 6-3 6-2 7-6 win.

“I am playing only three sets every single match so I've been able to save some energy,” said Berdych, to a packed Margaret Court Arena.

The match was all about the third set tiebreaker, which kept fans on the edge of their seats. By this point in the match, both players were in attack mode, Berdych desperate to seal the deal and Anderson hoping to push the match into a fourth set.

Anderson had five set points in the breaker, all on Berdych’s serve. Berdych had five match points in the breaker and finally prevailed when Anderson, serving at 13-14, hit a forehand beyond the baseline. As soon as the ball landed, Berdych was pumping his fist in victory, but Anderson chose to challenge the call. Hawkeye, however, confirmed the ball was long, and Berdych quickly resumed his celebration. 

“The tiebreak, I was probably a bit luckier,” Berdych said. “I had chances through the third set, but tennis isn’t finished until the last point.”

Berdych will play either world number one Novak Djokovic or 15th seed Stanislas Wawrinka.