Roger Federer acknowledges the crowd after his win over Michael Llodra

BY MIKE CORMACK
sportsnet.ca

TORONTO—Roger Federer will get another crack at Tomas Berdych. The Swiss star ousted Michael Llorda at the Rogers Cup Thursday 7-6, 6-3 to set up a quarter-final rematch with the man who eliminated him from Wimbledon last month.

Federer, the No. 3 seed, rallied from a 3-0 deficit in the first frame to take the set in a tie-breaker before cruising in the second set to close out the match in one hour and 19 minutes.

Following the match Llorda, who knows Federer going back to their junior days, made an unusual request and asked him for his shirt.

"I've known him for 16 years, he's a year older than me and he said it was for kids, so I couldn't say no," Federer joked.

Meanwhile, the seventh-seeded Berdych survived a scare from Alexandr Dolgopolov of the Ukraine to advance 6-3, 6-7 (5), 6-4.

In addition to ousting the 14-time Grand Slam champion from Wimbledon, the 24-year-old, big-hitting Czech also knocked Federer out of the Miami Masters this past spring.

"He's definitely on a roll right now," Federer said of his upcoming tilt with Berdych. "I'll have to go back and see what I did right, what I did wrong. I hope to stop him."

Nadal holds off qualifier

Rafael Nadal admitted having a hard time with South African qualifier Kevin Anderson’s serve, but the big weapon wasn’t enough to upset the top seed as the Spaniard prevailed Friday 6-2, 7-6 (8) to advance to the quarter-finals.

The two-time Rogers Cup champion will now will play Phillip Kohlschreiber of Germany Friday with a possible match up with either David Nalbandian or Andy Murray looming in the semis.

"I played a very good first set," Nadal said. "It’s a good victory for me. It was very difficult to attack his server, it’s unbelievable."

Nalbandian stretches win streak

Earlier Thursday, David Nalbandian won his 11th-straight ATP Tour match by defeating No. 5 Robin Soderling 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, and No. 6 seed Nikolay Davydenko fell to Jeremy Chardy 6-3, 6-2.

Nalbandian's win over Soderling marked the seventh time he has beaten a player ranked inside the top 25 since returning from a hamstring injury last week.

"It was a good victory for me, " he said. "I feel like I'm playing good. "

Nalbandian will now play No. 4 seed Andy Murray in the quarter-finals after the Scot fought off No. 15 Gael Monfils of France in three tough sets 6-2, 0-6, 6-3.

"I'm just going to try and keep this going, " said Nalbandian. "I'm really enjoying this time (back from injury) now. "

Djokovic cool under pressure

A day after nearly wilting in the heat, Novak Djokovic had no such problems Friday easily dispatching Victor Hanescu 6-3, 6-4 on the grandstand.

"It was fun out there," Djokovic said. "You can feel the crowd more out there and they were really into the match. Also, the weather wasn’t as bad."

Djokovic will now play Jeremy Chardy of France in the quarter-final with the winner to take on the winner of the Federer-Berdych.

Nestor-Zimonjic win marathon match

It wasn’t pretty, but the top ranked doubles team of Canadian Daniel Nestor and Serbia Nenad Zimonjic advanced Friday after beating the team of Mark Knowles and Radek Stepanek 3-6, 6-3, 10-6.

"We haven’t played a lot since the French Open, so it was nice to get a win," said Nestor. "Usually when we get through the first round, we do pretty well."

Seeds advancing Thursday (1) Nadal, (2) Djokovic, (3) Federer, (4) Murray, (7) Berdych.

Seeds eliminated Thursday: (5) Soderling, (6) Davydenko, (15) Monfils

Friday’s Match of the Day:

(3) Roger Federer vs. (7) Tomas Berdych, 7 p.m.

Head-to-head: Federer leads 8-3

Last meeting: Wimbledon (grass). Berdych won 6-4, 3-6, 6-1, 6-4.

The Skinny: Berdych has gotten the better of Federer the past two times they’ve met, at Wimbledon and earlier this year on the hard courts at Miami. The match should give us a good indication of where Federer’s game is truly at. He’s looked rusty in the opening set of his first two matches, but he can’t afford a similar slow start Friday against the big-serving Czech.