Help
9/2/10 2:59 AM | Ricky Dimon
Tomas Berdych is out after just three sets at the U.S. Open. Michael Llodra upsets the No. 7 seed to book a spot alongside Victor Hanescu in the second round.
There will be no more Grand Slam heroics from Tomas Berdych in 2010.
Berdych, a semifinalist at the French Open and the runner-up at Wimbledon, fell to Michael Llodra 7-6(3), 6-4, 6-4 in the first round of the U.S. Open on Wednesday afternoon. Llodra needed two hours and 26 minutes to set up a meeting with Victor Hanescu.
Although it turned out to be surprisingly routine for the underdog, the first half of the match was nothing of the sort. Llodra dominated on serve from start to finish, but Berdych matched him en route to first-set tiebreaker. The Frenchman seized a quick mini-break and never relinquished the advantage, taking the decider seven points to three.
Still, Llodra was not yet in the clear. With set two on serve in the early stages, the 30-year-old underdog took an injury timeout for an apparent ankle problem. After a brief delay, Llodra came storming back and stunned Berdych with an immediate break of serve. From there Llodra served things out the rest of the way.
Continuing his remarkably aggressive tactics in the third, Llodra ran into no difficulty of any kind on serve. He saved three break points in the second set, but faced none in the third. One break was once again enough for the world No. 36, who closed finished off the proceedings in convincing fashion at 5-4.
"Tomas is too strong for me from the baseline," explained Llodra, who approached the net 75 times and won 48 of those points. "I had to do something to destabilize him. Today it was perfect because I served pretty good; not aces, but a lot of good first serves. And my volley was unbelievable."
Berdych wrapped up his effort with an impressive ratio of 37 winners to 18 unforced errors, but it was not enough to deal with an in-form Llodra.
Find the latest tennis odds at Unibet.com
Tell a friend »
Don't hold back tj. Lol
Really bad match-up for Berdych ... Llodra can be so good ... sometimes.
smr , 9/2/10 6:22 AM
Well done Lorda, go and meet Murray
sabs , 9/2/10 7:39 AM
tj: while I would moderate my language a tad, essentially I agree!
sabs: that would be a very nice match, both maestros in their own way, I'd say!
deuce , 9/2/10 8:08 AM
I reckon llodra is the 3rd most likely to make it to the QFs from his section of the draw, with Isner and Youzny more likely to come through, especially Isner who's going to have huge support.
alex , 9/2/10 10:33 AM
"Brainless ball basher" Berdych has defeted Federer two times this year. It seems that Somebody has less brains than Berdych.
Augustina08 , 9/2/10 10:37 AM
Too harsh to call Berdych a brainless ball basher. He certainly has brain, and he can beat Fed on hard and grass courts. He did pushed Fed to three sets and nearly beat Fed in Toronto, where Fed was not bothered by any injury. It's just that he couldn't handle Llodra's S &V game.
luckystar , 9/2/10 11:51 AM
To be honest, all these so called h/c specialists who are supposed to run Rafa off the courts at the USO have never done well there. In 2008, Berdych went out in the 1st round, last year he went out in the 3rd round, so it's people's expectations from him that are too high. I actually thought that Llodra would beat him from what I saw of Llodra before the USO, can't remember which tournament, Cincy or Toronto. Llodra beat Berdych at RG, but then people would say that was clay.
He is not brainless, he is just not as good as people make him out to be. Some players go through a good patch where they get the better of the top players, but they are not good enough to sustain that level, and that to me is what separates the sheep from the goat..........not GOAT, I might add.
nadline , 9/2/10 12:07 PM
Next upset: Dent defeats Soderling
Watch for it.
grafight , 9/2/10 6:03 PM
no way. dent's confidence is seriously dented. are you not aware of how it went at roland garros earlier this year? a complete blow out.
croc , 9/2/10 6:17 PM
grafight, Dent may not even turn up, he has damaged the ligament on his wrist by holding his 32lbs 7 month old baby. If he does turn up, he will be severely hampered, and even Sod will walk all over him.
They've just shown a shot of Federer practising to meet Beck. Is he kidding me? I'm sure he'll break more sweat there than playing Beck. Apparently, he chose the court farthest away from the crowd, whilst the people's champion, Rafa had the crowd right next to his practice court.
nadline , 9/2/10 6:27 PM
nadline, when did this happen? how did you hear about it?
croc: Yes it was a blowout, but that was then and this is now (unless he's seriously injured)
grafight , 9/2/10 9:29 PM
They said on Sky that Dent has damaged his wrist, so we'll see if he turns up, or how it will affect him.
nadline , 9/2/10 9:48 PM
grafight, in either case, dent is seriously fat. and he is suffering another blowout. wrist problem or not.
croc , 9/2/10 10:47 PM
Scan QR code to access Unibet mobile.
Bet on Sports wherever you are and whenever you like, with Unibet's quick and simple mobile client you can place bets, check results and see live odds.
For more info about QR codes & scanners click here.
Contact us
/ About us
/ Cookies
/ Recommended links
/ Advertise
/ Sitemap
Tennistalk v1.5.0
Disclaimer © 2001-2012, Moneytainment Media Ltd - All rights reserved
berdych is exactly who I thought he was,a brainless ball basher who has been playing over his head for the past few months. The way I see it,hes a slightly more talented version of soderling. but just like the swede,he has no plan "b" . When he comes up against an opponent who he cant overpower,or gives him no baseline rhythym,hes in trouble. His ROS is also crap,and it needs some work.
tj600 , 9/2/10 3:38 AM