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  • Bastad Semifinal: Tomas Berdych vs. Fernando Verdasco

    7/12/08 5:53 AM | Ricky Dimon
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    A spot in the Catella Swedish Open final is at stake when Tomas Berdych takes on Fernando Verdasco. It's a rematch of a Wimbledon third-round clash.

    It will be the sixth career head-to-head meeting between Tomas Berdych and Fernando Verdasco when the two players face off on Saturday in the Bastad semifinals. Most recently they battled less than two weeks ago in the Wimbledon third round. Somewhat surprisingly, Verdasco took that match with no trouble at all, scoring a 6-4, 6-4, 6-0 blowout. Overall, however, Berdych leads the series 3-2, including 1-0 on clay.

    Verdasco's straight-set destruction of Berdych at the All-England Club wasn't entirely shocking because the Spaniard has definitely enjoyed a stronger season than his opponent. Standing at 16th place in the 2008 points race, Verdasco also is up to career-high ranking of No. 13 in the world. Most of those points have been acquired recently and on the dirt. Since May Verdasco has reached the third round in Rome, the quarterfinals in Hamburg, the fourth round of both the French Open and Wimbledon, and the final in Nottingham.

    Berdych, on the other hand, has not exactly been lighting up the tennis courts in 2008 and he brought just a 1-2 match record in ATP tournaments on clay this season into Bastad. The Czech's only win on the slow stuff came at the expense of unheralded Robert Smeets in the first round of the French Open.

    Berdych's power game works better on faster surfaces, so if he cannot compete with Verdasco on grass, how can he on clay? He probably can't, but if Berdych serves flawlessly it could have a huge impact even on the dirt. Still, Verdasco is more confident at the moment, is right at home on clay, and should wear down his opponent from the baseline. If Berdych cannot get that Wimbledon nightmare out of his mind, count on Verdasco advancing in straight sets.

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