Barclays ATP Tour Finals - Preview: Andy Roddick versus Tomas Berdych on Wednesday
America’s number 1 player is slated to face Tomas Berdych in his second match of the event, after suffering a disappointing loss in his first Group A match against World Number 1, Rafael Nadal. He put up a great battle to the end, even taking away the first
set, but was ultimately met with defeat.
He remains optimistic about his chances for a semi-final appearance, though, saying after the match, "I thought it was great. I think we're glad we put a really good product out there tonight. Up until now I don't feel like two players have played well at
the same time during a match. It was fun playing tonight. I thought I played well."
Roddick can still realistically hope for a victory against his opponent Berdych in the second match for both of the players. He has the chance to win the match and stay a formidable opponent in the tournament.
Berdych, who is currently World Number 6 on the ATP tour, also lost his opening match of the ATP World Tour Finals. He was beaten in a less than competitive match against Novak Djokovic, who holds the World Number 3 position on the rankings chart.
Berdych seems to be having a bit of an off season, with failures in form. His dismal showings are disappointing to say the least, especially if his performances throughout the year, both in Wimbledon and before are kept in mind. Noticeable performances of
his include final's appearance against Nadal at Wimbledon, the semi-final show at Roland Garros facing Robin Soderling and earlier prowess at Miami Masters.
While these performances definitely buoy up his rankings, he has deteriorated noticeably since ATP Toronto. As of this moment, he cannot impede anyone’s progress at the ATP WTF and is, for all practical purposes, only just a solid player.
Although, individual matches vary greatly, Berdych still seems to be outmatched by the World Number 8. In addition to Andy Roddick’s great form, which is in contrast to Czech Berdych’s performance (he has won only one match in the past three months), Roddick
also has the added benefit of a better head to head record. The weight of this advantage is reflected in the fact that Roddick has won 6 of the eight matches which he has played against Tomas Berdych.
Four of these matches have been on a consecutive winning streak against the Czech Republic’s number 1 player, who seems to have trouble combating Roddick’s superior serve. Berdych has lost three hard court matches to Roddick in the past year, with the Miami
Masters' final being one of them. In addition to this, in their last four matches, Berdych has only been able to take one set away from Andy Roddick; he has not defeated the American player since 2008.
Given both Andy Roddick’s superior form and great head to head record against Czech Tomas Berdych, pundits and critics are predicting a straight sets victory for American Roddick in this Group A match, which will afford Roddick a better shot at the event’s
semi finals.
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