Federer through in straight sets

By Piers Newbery

Federer's impressive serve was the key to his win over Berdych

Defending champion Roger Federer saw off 13th seed Tomas Berdych in straight sets to reach the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.

The Swiss star had been taken to five long sets in his previous match against Janko Tipsarevic in Melbourne.

And Federer had to save two set points in the second set of another hard-hitting encounter before coming through 6-4 7-6 (9-7) 6-3.

He next plays 12th seed James Blake, who beat Marin Cilic 6-3 6-4 6-4.

The American believes he can give Federer a run for his money in their last-eight encounter, even though the world number one has a 7-0 record in head-to-head meetings.

"I'll give my best shot against Roger," he said.

"Janko took him to 10-8 in the fifth and no matter who you are he has shown you can take Roger to the limit, and I plan to cause him some trouble."

After beating Tipsarevic in five sets on Saturday there was considerable interest in how Federer would recover from an unusually early test at a Grand Slam.

I'm quite pleased with the result pulling up from a tough match against Tipsarevic Roger Federer

He came out looking focused against an opponent he had beaten in five of six meetings, but who had the power to be a real threat.

After eight high-quality games dominated by serve, Berdych cracked first when he played a poor drop shot and Federer pounced with a forehand winner on break point.

The Swiss served out the set and threatened to break at the start of the second but it was Berdych who made the early breakthrough to lead 3-0.

Federer fought back to level and saved another break point in game eight as the pair headed for what would be a crucial tie-break.

Berdych had the edge early on but from 5-2 down, Federer stepped up a gear to level before uncharacteristically missing with a forehand.

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It was set point to Berdych but he chose this vital moment to play another dreadful drop shot, before over-hitting a forehand when he got a second chance moments later.

Federer was not about to let him off the hook and duly took the breaker before breaking in game six of the third, following a double-fault and another missed forehand from Berdych.

There were to be no scares for Federer as he calmly served out the win and secured yet another Grand Slam quarter-final place.

"I'm quite pleased with the result pulling up from a tough match against Tipsarevic who played a fantastic match," said Federer.

"Tomas has been playing well and he's always a dangerous guy on any surface and it's unfortunate for him, but I'm very happy and hope to keep going."

Fifth seed David Ferrer beat fellow Spaniard Juan Carlos Ferrero 7-5 3-6 6-4 6-1 and will play number three seed Novak Djokovic after the Serb saw off Lleyton Hewitt 7-5 6-3 6-3.

Britain's Jamie Murray and his American partner Liezel Huber went out of the mixed doubles in the second round.

They lost 6-2 6-4 to fifth seeds Tian Tian Sun of China and Nenad Zimonjic of Serbia.