World No.6 Roger Federer survived two match points before beating Tomas Berdych in a third-set tiebreak in their Miami Open quarter-final on Thursday (Friday AEDT).
Fourth-seed Federer had to call upon all his resources of skill, poise and experience to edge Czech No.10 seed Berdych 6-2 3-6 7-6 (8-6).
Berdych served for the match at 6-4 in the tiebreak, but could not convert, with Federer reeling off four points in a row, winning when Berdych double-faulted on the first match point for the Swiss ace.
Earlier, Federer looked set for another emphatic victory after taking the first set.
Australian Open champion Federer, who also won at Indian Wells two weeks ago, has lost only once this year, to Russian Evgeny Donskoy in Dubai.
The last of the quarter-finals at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event pits Australian No.12 seed Nick Kyrgios against German No.16 seed Alexander Zverev, with the winner earning a semi-final showdown with Federer.
In the bottom half of the draw, unseeded Italian Fabio Fognini will face Spain’s fifth-seed Rafael Nadal for a spot in the final.