DUBAI — Tomas Berdych saved three match points on his way to beating titleholder Roger Federer 3-6, 7-6, 6-4 in the Dubai Championships semifinals Friday, setting up a showdown with world No. 1 Novak Djokovic in Saturday's final. Federer surged from 5-2 down in the second set but then fluffed three match points in the tiebreak before Czech Berdych forced a deciding set with a bludgeoned return winner. In the final set, two miscued forehands and a double fault from Federer gave Berdych two break points at 2-2. The Swiss saved the first with an ace but skewed another forehand wide to fall 3-2 behind and Berdych was able to serve out the match for a fifth win in his past eight meetings with Federer. Earlier, Djokovic beat a stubborn Juan Martin del Potro 6-3 7-6, extending his winning streak to 17 matches. The top-ranked Serb, bidding for his fourth Dubai title in five years, made the only break of the first set and won it when del Potro hit a return long. Del Potro then jumped out to 3-0 courtesy of a much improved service game only to unravel when he was warned for taking too long on his serve. Serving at 3-1, 30-40, the Argentine was given a warning by the chair umpire for taking more than the allotted 25 seconds. It sparked a flurry of boos in the packed stadium and prompted a furious del Potro to hit a forehand wide to make it 3-2. Djokovic ran off the next three straight games and seemed in control. But with the Serb up 5-3 and serving for the match, del Potro broke a second time and made it 5-all. Djokovic forced the tiebreak and won it when del Potro hit another forehand long. "I was very pleased with the performance overall and the way I handled myself in the tough moments," said Djokovic, who hasn't lost since October. "Mentally I stayed tough and believed that I could go all the way and win in straight sets. I didn't really allow myself to be negative. I have been very, very positive and confident." Unlike Djokovic, del Potro said he lost his focus after the time violation warning. "I lost my calm when I started to discuss with the umpire, and (Djokovic) come back in the second so quick," del Potro said. Defending champ Hsieh out Defending champion Hsieh Su Wei lost in the BMW Malaysian Open's quarterfinals Friday, going down 7-5, 6-2 to American wildcard Bethanie Mattek-Sands. The Taiwanese's defeat, coupled with seed number one Caroline Wozniacki's first-round loss Wednesday, means no defending champion or top seed has ever won the Malaysian Open. Meanwhile, Japan's Ayumi Morita edged closer to winning her first ever WTA title after beating Luksika Kumkhum of Thailand 6-7 (7-9), 6-4, 6-1. Morita will meet 127th-ranked Karolina Pliskova of the Czech Republic in Saturday's semifinal. Pliskova eliminated Austrian Patricia Mayr-Achleitner 7-5, 6-1 to set-up the meeting with Morita. — Agencies
