2011 ABN AMRO World Tennis: Tomas Berdych vs. Dmitry Tursunov - preview
With three of the quarterfinal spots already filled on Wednesday, the remaining second round matches wrap up on Thursday at the 2011 ABN AMRO World Tennis Tournament.
Kicking off action for the day is Czech giant, Tomas Berdych, as he takes on the Russian qualifier, Dmitry Tursunov.
Playing in his sixth year here, Berdych looks to surpass his career best here as he turns to face Tursunov for a spot in the last eight. Debuting here in 2005, Berdych has failed to move past the second round here.
His last second round run here came in 2008 when he was defeated by Ivo Karlovic. Absent from the event in 2010, Berdych’s last run here came in 2009 when he failed to make it past the first round losing to Bulgarian Grigor Dimitrov.
Starting his campaign here on Tuesday as the fourth seed, Berdych played Spaniard Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in his opening clash. Finishing up in less than an hour, Berdych secured a breadstick win in the opener wrapping it up with a 6-2 in the second set.
Coming from a quarterfinal run at the Grand Slam Down Under, Berdych is enjoying his top form in the season so far. Seeded sixth in the event, Berdych moved past Richard Gasquet and Fernando Verdasco to secure a spot in the final eight there.
However, pitted against eventual champion, Novak Djokovic, Berdych was dismissed in straight sets.
The Czech had earlier enjoyed a semi-final run in the season opener at Chennai. Top seed in the 2011 Aircel Chennai Open, Berdych sailed into the semis but failed to move on owing to his loss to eventual champion, Stanislas Wawrinka.
Looking to make it into the quarterfinal at least in the second tour level event of the season, Berdych couldn’t have asked for better odds. Pitted against Tursunov, Berdych enjoys a 4-1 lead in the career head to head.
Enjoying a three match winning streak against the Russian, Berdych had last defeated Tursunov in the opening clash at the 2010 Legg Mason Classic, though Tursunov had managed to push the match into three sets.
Ranked 151st in the world, the Russian is not without his accolades for the season. Although, this is his first main draw entry on a tour level event, he enjoys a title win in a Challenger event. Playing in Singapore two weeks ago, Tursunov made
it all the way into the finals and secured a title win after defeating Lukas Rosol in straight sets.
He had also played in the qualifying draw for the Brisbane International though failed to gain acceptance in the main draw after his loss to Peter Luczak.
Debuted in 2008 here, Tursunov, has never made it past the second round. In 2009 he had defeated Arnaud Clement in the opening clash only to fall to Clement’s compatriot, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the second round.
A qualifier here this year, Tursunov had upset qualifying top seed, Philipp Petzschner, to secure a spot for himself in the main draw. Pitted against Kazakh, Andrey Golubev, in the opening clash, Tursunov enjoyed a straight, though hard fought, sets victory
as he recorded a 6-4, 7-5 win to move on ahead.
Prediction: Given the statistical advantage that Berdych enjoys coupled with the fact that he is a top ten surely makes him the favourite to win the match. However, seed upsets in Andy Murray and David Ferrer here might give Tursunov some
hope, though the odds lie in the Czech’s favour.
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