Tomas Berdych of Czechoslovakia

Three heavyweights have been joined by upset specialist Tomas Berdych of Czechoslovakia to battle in the semifinals of the Men’s Draw in Miami at the Sony Ericsson on Friday. Number three seed Rafael Nadal and six seed Andy Roddick, the 2004 Champion in Miami, booked their semifinal slots on Wednesday.

On Thursday, the red-hot Soderling unceremoniously dismissed Mikkhail Youzhny in a convincing 6-1, 6-4 quarterfinal triumph. The Swede, who started the year slowly, has been on a hot run of late. Soderling broke the powerful Youzhny serve six times while dropping just five points on his first serve during the match.

Impressive statistics indeed, but really just the tip of the iceberg for the confident, focused Swede. Thus far, Soderling has lost just one set in Miami. Only Andy Roddick has not lost a set. Of late, Soderling has taken to controlling the tempo and tempo of the match and the pace of the game. The Swede used this strategy effectively against Youzhny, who seemed powerless in the first set and unable to regroup in the second.

“I played really well from the back of the court. I was moving well and didn’t miss much. But, I didn’t serve quite the way I wanted,” said Soderling. Youzhny may not agree with the serving assessment but could pose no rebuttle for the ground game assault.

The fifth seeded Soderling will face Czech conqueror of top seed Roger Federer, Tomaz Berdych, in the late Friday match. Berdych rode the momentum of his marathon win over Federer to claw past Spain’s Fernando Verdasco in a memorable three set quarterfinal. Berdych has easily disposed of Verdasco at Indian Wells just two weeks ago, but this was a very different trip.

Verdasco seemed distracted with the wind in California. In this match he came out with his customary big serve and piercing forehand. Verdasco was relentless from the start and served out the first set at 6-4. Berdych was forced to a tough second set tiebreaker but edged the Spaniard 7-6 (5) with the help of a timely forehand drive and a Verdasco misplay.

When Berdych served out the third at 6-4, the fans wildly applauded the 2 hour 51 minute bruising battle of heavyweight hitters. Berdych continues to move smoothly into the court and his serve seems up one notch in recent weeks.

Regardless, the Czech will be a decided underdog against Soderling. Acknowledging newfound inspiration from the Federer shocker, the reality is that the Czech will be playing for the third consecutive days and has two marathons directly under his belt. Friday’s semifinal will mark Berdych’s second semis appearance in three years.

Soderling and Berdych have played six times previously. The Swede has won four of the matches. In 2010, Berdych stands at 12-6 and Soderling has raised his record to 12-4. Soderling and Berdych have each won five tour events in their careers.

The Sony Ericsson Miami Open is well ahead of previous attendance schedule and the semifinal day on Friday should be another standing room only crowd.

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