Match: Roger Federer v Tomas Berdych
Date: 20 January, Friday
Time: 6pm SGT/3:30pm IST/10am GMT (onwards)
Competition: Australian Open 2017
Venue: Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Park
TV Channel: In Singapore, Fox Sports will provide live TV coverage of the match.
Live Streaming: The match can be watched live online at AO TV Live, Watch ESPN, Tennis Channel Live
Overview
Roger Federer will be facing one of the sternest tests following his return from a long injury layoff in the third round of the ongoing Australian Open tournament on Friday. The Swiss star will be playing 10th seed Tomas Berdych, whom he defeated in the quarter-final at Melbourne last year.
Federer opened his campaign with a win against unseeded Austrian Jurgen Melzer but was tested as the match went to four sets after the 17th seed dropped the second. In his second round-match, the 17-time Grand Slam winner brushed aside a stiff challenge from 20-year-old American Noah Rubin in straight sets.
Despite having a 16-6 head-to-head record over his opponent, Federer is wary of the in-form Berdych, who has consistently reached the final stages of majors in the recent past. He stresses on the importance of raising his game but is confident of coming up with a good show.
"He has caused difficulties for me in the past on faster courts—Cincinnati, New York, Wimbledon, [the] Olympics in Athens. I know what he has got ... I have played him here—played him on many occasions, as well— when it went my way. I just got to play on my terms and stay really focused. I know I've got to lift my game a little bit," Federer said, as quoted by Tennis.com.
On the other hand, Berdych has been largely untroubled in the campaign so far with his first-round opponent Luca Vanni retiring hurt after conceding a set. The Czech star decimated American Ryan Harrison in straight sets and is looking good to better his record against his familiar foe on Friday.
A win will give Federer the much-needed confidence on his comeback run and will boost his morale ahead of the possible big quarter-final clash against Kei Nishikori.
TV Schedule
Australia: Seven
India: Sony Six
Japan: NHK, WOWOW, Sportsnavi
Malaysia: Fox Sports
US: ESPN
UK: Eurosport
Philippines: Fox Sports
Thailand: Fox Sports
China: CCTV, Guangdong Sports, BTV Sports
France: Eurosport
Spain: Eurosport
