WATCH: Federer gets out of trouble against Berdych

Tomas Berdych showed why he is one of the most unpredictable players in the third-set tiebreaker of his quarterfinal match at the Miami Open on Thursday. It just so happened that his on-and-off play came against the hottest player on tour : 18-time Grand Slam champion Roger Federer.

Serving at 5-4 in the breaker, Berdych laced a backhand down the line for a winner to earn two match points. It was the perfect example of what the Czech is capable of: flashy shot-making.

But he was playing Federer, who has shone in tiebreakers as of late (winning his last seven). Berdych put himself in position to earn a huge, confidence-boosting win, but the Swiss produced another trick (in case you need a reminder of what Federer is capable of, look at this drop shot from the first set)…

... to turn things around and reverse the scenario. The Swiss fended off a jamming body serve on the deuce side with an upwards-swipe of his one-handed backhand—reminiscent of a windshield wiper deflecting raindrops—forcing Berdych to step up to earn the victory. He didn’t, dumping a forehand into the net.

That one forehand miss, forced by a difficult return, ended up being the last groundstroke Berdych got to hit in the match. In two waves of his racquet—or wand—Federer hit an unreturnable serve up the T followed by an ace to set up a match point of his own.

And then... this happened:

While Berdych double faulted the match to Federer, the tiebreaker was a testament to the 35-year-old’s nerves of steel. The recent Australian Open and Indian Wells winner will take on Nick Kyrgios for a spot in the final.