Help
© Tennistalk.com
|
|
© Tennistalk.com
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
10/3/08 5:54 PM | Ricky Dimon
Tomas Berdych crushes Fernando Gonzalez in straight sets on Friday to reach the semifinals of the Japan Open. The match lasts just one hour and two minutes.
Tomas Berdych had been on the losing end of three lopsided matches with Fernando Gonzalez until getting over the hump in a three-set battle this summer at the Masters Series Cincinnati. It was much easier on Friday in the Japan Open quarterfinals, and this time Berdych was the one handing out a free tennis lesson. The No. 9 seed needed just 62 minutes to send Gonzalez packing in 6-0, 6-4 fashion.
The Chilean dropped serve in the opening game of the match and it never got any better throughout the first set. Berdych lost just five points in three service games, although he did have to save a break point on one occasion. Every part of Berdych's game was just about flawless in the first six games; his return was on fire (won eight of nine first-serve return points) and his serve and forehand overwhelmed Gonzalez.
More of the same continued in set two, albeit to a lesser extent. Somehow Gonzalez, who is prone to mental implosions when things aren't going his way, fought hard and it came down simply to Berdych taking his chances while Gonzalez did not. The Czech capitalized on his only break point in the second frame of play while saving the only one he faced. Four aces (five in total) and no double-faults helped Berdych's efforts, while Gonzalez struck just one ace and double-faulted once.
Berdych dictated play by pounding away hard, flat groundstrokes to his opponent's backhand. That worked to perfection against Gonzalez's slice backhand on fast indoor courts, and Berdych will have to do the same against Roddick. Like Gonzalez, the American owns a big forehand but often resorts to weak slicing from the other side. Berdych is 1-2 in head-to-head meetings with Roddick.
You never know what you are going to get from Berdych, but this was one of his "on" days.
Same goes for Gonzalez, and this was an "off" day.
Tell a friend »
Did you know that... While in high school, Andy Roddick played basketball with fellow pro tennis player Mardy Fish.
Avalaine, Dec 4, 2008 4:32 AM
ravikiran, Dec 4, 2008 3:49 AM
kaitepai, Dec 3, 2008 10:59 PM
kaitepai, Dec 3, 2008 10:02 PM
janhavi, Dec 3, 2008 2:51 PM
Avalaine, Dec 3, 2008 10:15 PM
Casper, Dec 2, 2008 8:23 PM
Casper, Dec 2, 2008 8:02 PM
Tomas Berdych
Fernando Gonzalez
AIG Japan Open
Contact us
/ About us
/ Cookies
/ Recommended links
/ Advertise
/ Sitemap
Tennistalk v1.3.0
