A great fighting performance by Roger today to win his 20th Masters 1000 title, he now ties the record with Nadal. I must say I wasn't expecting Berdych to play so well, especially in the first set where he broke in Roger's first service game and eventually won the set 6-3. Roger's shot placement wasn't good, and the explosive Berdych serve kept him from returning balls effectively. 

 A crucial moment came in the 2nd set where Roger broke to take a 2-0 lead. He kept the serve clutch, but was unable to serve out the set at 5-3. Keeping his composure, he broke back at 6-5 to level the match. 

The final set was very close and it was all about converting break points. Federer kept his chances of winning the match alive after having to save a further two break points in the first game. I though it was game over for Berdych at 4-3 after an unforced error gave Federer the break. 

Amazingly, like a replay of the second set, Federer failed to serve out the match at 5-3 and Berdych managed to hold to level the match at 5-5. Another clutch service game by Roger moved him one game ahead in the scoreboard. 

Berdych had to recover from a 0-40 deficit (3 match points for Fed), but netted a forehand at Federer's fourth match point to give Roger his 20th Master 1000 title and 74th career title. He also has leapfrogged Nadal in the rankings. But we will have to wait till the end of Rome to see who comes ahead for Roland Garros.

"It’s been a great spell and I couldn’t be more happy right now coming off a break winning right away," said Federer, who was playing his first tournament since early April. "It’s always an ideal scenario for what’s to come." 

“I was worried about getting through the first round and was not even thinking about who was going to be my second round opponent," he said. "I was very realistic coming into this event. Confidence is coming back. I was away and it didn’t take much for me to get my confidence back, especially now that I’ve been playing so well for the past nine months." 

"It was tough. I was almost down the entire time," admitted Federer. "Finally I got the break in the third, and then he broke back. Things got tough again. I played great. It's always special winning a title 7-5 in the third. The crowd was amazing so I'm very happy."