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  Sun, May 13, 2012

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Federer wins 74th career title
By SPORTS NETWORK


Roger Federer returns the ball to Tomas Berdych during their men's final match at the Madrid Open on Sunday, May 13, 2012. (Susana Vera/Reuters)

MADRID - Roger Federer battled back to defeat Tomas Berdych in Sunday's final at the Madrid Open.

The third-seeded Federer rallied past Berdych 3-6, 7-5, 7-5 to capture his fourth title in 2012.

The 30-year-old Swiss native also recorded his 74th career title on Sunday and his third in Madrid, having won at the Magic Box in 2006 and again in 2009. In addition, he was the Madrid runner-up in 2007 and 2010. Federer is the first three-time winner in the tournament's 11-year history.

Federer will overtake Spanish superstar Rafael Nadal for No. 2 in the world when the new rankings come out on Monday.

Federer now has 20 career Masters titles, tying him with Nadal for the most all-time. Nadal reached the plateau last month at Monte Carlo.

The sixth-seeded Berdych was trying for his second title of 2012. He beat Gael Monfils for the Montpellier crown back in February. The Czech fell to 7-7 for his career in finals.

Federer improved to 11-4 all-time against Berdych, including wins in both of their previous clay meetings -- 2005 in Hamburg and 2006 at the French Open. However, two of Berdych's biggest career wins came against Federer. He won the first-ever meeting between the two at the Athens Olympics in 2004 and stunned the 16-time Grand Slam champ six years later in the Wimbledon quarterfinals.

With the win, Federer took home $770,000. He has eclipsed the $70 million mark in career earnings.












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