Madrid Open 2012: Roger Federer Beats Tomas Berdych For Title

Following Saturday’s play at the 2012 Mutua Madrid Open, the men’s and women’s final matches are now set. Who will take home the top prizes on the controversial blue clay in Madrid?

The men’s final will be a refreshing matchup after favorites Novak Djokovic and Rafael Nadal were both bounced out of the tournament in the quarterfinals.

The women’s final has been set at the 2012 Mutua Madrid Open. The No. 1 women’s tennis player, Victoria Azarenka, will face off against one of the most famous tennis players of this generation, the resurgent Serena Williams.

In the semifinals on Saturday, Azarenka eliminated No. 4 Agnieszka Radwańska with relative ease, needing two sets to advance 6-2, 6-4. On the other side of the bracket, Williams also defeated her opponent in straight sets. Heavy underdog Lucie Hradecká was eliminated after sets of 7-6 (7-5), 6-0. Williams blanked Hradecká in the second set and will be raring to go in the final against Azarenka.

Clay isn’t known as Roger Federer’s surface, but he’s the only top 5 ATP member still standing on the blue dirt in Madrid.

He is joined in the semifinal round by world No. 8 Janko Tipsarevic, along with world No. 7 Tomas Berdych and world No. 11 Juan Martin Del Potro.

Serena Williams shredded Maria Sharapova in their quarterfinal match.

The former world No. 1 defeated the world No. 2 in straight sets, dropping only four games along the way for a final score of 6-1, 6-3. Had Sharapova been able to stay in the tournament, she was on her way to possibly grabbing the world’s top spot.

The 2012 Mutua Madrid Open has seen no shortage of drama before the finals have even arrived. After No. 2-ranked men’s player Rafael Nadal was upset and took exception to the blue clay playing surface, the top men’s player in the world also saw himself ushered out of the tournament in the quarterfinals.

Novak Djokovic was defeated in straight sets by No. 7 Janko Tipsarevic, 7-6, 6-3. In the other quarterfinal on Djokovic’s side of the bracket, No. 3 Roger Federer became the only top five-ranked player to make it into the semifinals, as he defeated David Ferrer, 6-4, 6-4. Federer and Tipsarevic will play in one of the two semifinal matches. The other men’s semifinal will pit Juan Martin del Potro against Tomas Berdych.

It’s a showdown for the women on Friday.

In a rematch of last year’s semifinal, World No. 1 Victoria Azarenka and Li Na will face off in the quarterfinals. Then there’s a battle between two former world No. 1’s Maria Sharapova and Serena Williams.

The Madrid Open nears the weekend as the round of 16 (named the “1/8 Round” by the tournament’s official website) gets under way today, as more and more participants offer their two cents on what’s becoming the infamous blue court.

On the men’s side, despite a number of close matches on Wednesday, nearly all of the usual suspects, and favorites, remain, as 12 of the world’s top 16 players on the ATP World Tour Rankings still stand in the bracket.

The 2012 Madrid Open continues Thursday with second and third round men’s and women’s matches. No. 2 seed Rafael Nadal highlighted the early men’s matches with an easy victory over Nikolay Davydenko. On the women’s side, No. 3 Petra Kvitova was upset in straight sets by Lucie Hradecka of the Czech Republic.

Nadal improved to 11-0 on clay this year with a 6-2, 6-2 win over Davydenko. The Russian typically plays the superstar Spaniard incredibly tight, but Nadal dominated after winning the first game of the match off deuce. Davydenko was broken in the third and fifth games of the first set. He was broken two more times in the second set, as well. Nadal finished the match with six aces and 19 winners.

The 2012 Mutua Madrid Open moves into Day 4 on Wednesday and there will be plenty of thrilling matches over the course of a packed day. Three of the top tennis players in the world will see action on Day 4 as they attempt to advance.

In Manolo Santana Stadium, Radek Stepanek will take on David Ferrer in an early afternoon match. Following that match, Nikolay Davydenko will go up against No. 2 ranked Rafael Nadal.

Top-ranked Novak Djokovic was seemingly on his way to an easy victory Tuesday in the second round of the 2012 Madrid Open. He won the first set 6-2 over Daniel Gimeno-Traver, an unranked Spaniard with only one ATP Tour match win this year to his name.

Momentum completely left Djokovic’s side of the court in the second set, however. The Serb held on his first serve, but was broken on his next two chances to suddenly find himself in a 4-1 hole. Gimeno-Traver looked much more at ease than the superstar, sending a forehand winner down the line to consummate a 6-2 win in the second set and put “upset” in the minds of spectators.

The top two seeds in the women’s draw of the 2012 Madrid Open won their second round matches in straight sets on Tuesday to advance to the tournament’s Round of 16. No. 1 Victoria Azarenka and No. 2 Maria Sharapova are still on track to meet in the finals for now.

Azarenka encountered a lot of trouble from Andrea Hlavackova in the second set of the match, however. After winning the first 6-3, Azarenka was broken in the 10th game of the next set. She went down 6-5 before double faulting in the 12th game to give Hlavackova a chance at set point. Azarenka regained her composure to win 10 of the final 12 points and take the second set 7-6 (2).