Help
10/11/11 5:45 PM | Ricky Dimon
Tomas Berdych will be back on the court three days after capturing the Beijing title. Standing in his way of the Shanghai third round is countryman Radek Stepanek.
Tomas Berdych and Radek Stepanek will be meeting for the third time in their careers and for the first time in five years when the Davis Cup teammates and occasional doubles partners do battle in the second round of the Shanghai Rolex Masters on Wednesday.
The two Czechs, who lost together in doubles on Tuesday, split their two previous encounters--both on indoor hard courts. Berdych prevailed 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 in the semifinals of the 2005 Paris Masters before Stepanek got revenge a few months later with a 7-5, 6-4 victory in Marseille.
Now in his prime at 26 years old, Berdych is playing consistent tennis and is a serious contender for the World Tour Finals. The world No. 7, who earned a first-round bye as the No. 6 seed, is 47-18 for the season after capturing his first ATP title in more than a year at the China Open. Berdych ousted fellow London hopeful Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the semis before defeating Marin Cilic.
Stepanek is still getting the job done at 32 years old. The veteran, who won the Washington title this summer, owns a solid 30-20 record for his 2011 campaign and he still registers at an impressive 26th in the rankings. Stepanek advanced to the Tokyo Open quarterfinals last week and he took advantage of a favorable Shanghai draw by easing past wild card Ze Zhang 6-3, 6-3 on Tuesday.
The real danger for Berdych here is fatigue. He contested the Beijing final just three days ago and Cilic already flamed out of Shanghai in unceremonious fashion--in straight sets to Spanish clay-courter Albert Ramos. Berdych, though, can get on streaks when he is playing well and he should be able to maintain his momentum after three tight sets.
Find the latest tennis odds at Unibet.com
Tell a friend »
There is something positively perverse in his choice of outfits.
Your comment reminded me of the time Federer said, after beating Hrbaty, 'There was no way I was going to let myself be beaten by someone wearing a shirt like that'?
The shirt in question had weird cut outs in the back that resulted in Hrbaty having bad patches of sunburn on his back.
ed251137 , 10/12/11 8:19 PM
Hrbaty also wore the shorts with holes in them. Got a front-row look at those at the US Open.
RickyDimon , 10/12/11 8:38 PM
Fed and Hrbaty are very good friends. Dominic has a positive H2H over both Fed and Nadal. The shirt in question had lips over both shoulder blades, pink no less. ha ha.
I don't think a player's clothes should be a reason as to why he should win or lose.
scoretracker , 10/13/11 5:06 AM
isn't Hrbaty the one who went over to Federer's chair and had a friendly conversation with him during the last changeover of their Wimbledon match?
RickyDimon , 10/13/11 5:58 AM
Ricky, yes. they were chumming it up at the changeover. There is genuine friendship between those two. I believe at one time they were doubles partners.
scoretracker , 10/13/11 6:07 AM
yep, good call. Fed and Hrbaty played occasionally in 2000 and 2001.
Compiled an 11-9 overall record. Reached one final.
RickyDimon , 10/13/11 7:08 AM
Radek Stepanek
Tomas Berdych
Shanghai
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
Yikes, wearing a shirt like that, Stephanek doesn't deserve a point!
deuce , 10/12/11 2:13 PM