'I showed a lot of heart today,' Roger Federer says after surviving Tomas Berdych in Miami Open quarters

Roger Federer is now 17-1 in 2017 but the Swiss master was pushed to the brink Thursday during the quarterfinals of the Miami Open against tenth seeded Czech Tomas Berdych. Federer fought off two match points before coming through with a 6-2, 3-6, 7-6 (6) victory at Key Biscayne.

“I’m happy today to have come through somehow. I definitely got very lucky at the end. But I think I showed great heart today, Tomas really started to step it up and it was a great match at the end," Federer told reporters after his victory, via The Guardian. The 35-year-old has risen from World No. 17 at the start of the year to World No. 4 in the currently Live ATP Rankings.

Unlike the Indian Wells event, it hasn't been smooth sailing for Federer at the Miami Open. He has been pushed to four tiebreakers already but the wily veteran has found a way to close out his opponents. On Thursday, Federer was serving for the match at 5-3 until an amazing turnaround from Berdych meant the Swiss star was down 6-4 in a tiebreaker. Federer, on the edge, was forced to win four consecutive points to survive Berdych, who owns past wins against the tennis great at Wimbledon and U.S. Open.

Tomas Berdych nearly had the contest won...

Berdych had very little to frown about after a hard-fought contest. “I just lost by one point. That’s what happened. Very simple, very straightforward. He was the one serving out the match, didn’t make it. I had a match point, didn’t make it. I had two, didn’t make it. So what else to say?"

Meanwhile, Rafael Nadal, Federer's oldest and most celebrated foe, is also through to the final four at the Miami Open. Nadal would square off against unseeded Italian Fabio Fognini in Thursday's semi-final encounter with hopes of another Roger Federer vs Rafael Nadal contest in Sunday's final. "I think it's a positive for both of us that we can still (be) around here and be very competitive almost every week that we are playing," Nadal said a few days back when quipped about a possible finals showdown with Federer.

The fourth-seeded Roger Federer, a former two-time champion at the event, will now face either Australia's 12th seeded Nick Kyrgios or Germany's 16th seeded Alexander Zverev in Friday's semi-finals. The hot-headed Australian and the rising German star will clash later Thursday in their quarterfinal match-up.