Tomas Berdych battles past Andy Roddick into the last-16 – BNP Paribas Open 2012
Seventh seed Tomas Berdych secured his birth in the fourth round, beating 30th seed Andy Roddick in three sets 6-3, 4-6, 6-2 in the round of 32 at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, USA on Monday.
Berdych grabbed lead straightaway, breaking the American in the very first games of the opener and holding his serve in the next to move ahead 2-0. Roddick saved a threat in the seventh game but could not do the same in the ninth,
losing it 3-6.
The Czech and Roddick started steadily in the second set, as they held their serves in the first six games to equalise the score at 3-3. Roddick hit a blow in the seventh and capitalised on it to clinch it 6-4.
Berdych raised the level of his game in the final set. The Czech snatched a break in the fourth game and consolidated on it to attain a 4-1 advantage. The right-hander did not allow Roddick to win any point in the eighth game,
sealing the decider 6-2.
The Czech hit seven aces won 33 of the 42 first serve points. On the other hand, Roddick smashed eight aces but he also committed three double faults. The difference between these two was their second serve performance. Berdych
claimed 19 of the 26 second delivery points compared to just 14 of the 33 by Roddick. The American failed to save four of the six break points he came across in the match.
The Czech took two hours and six minutes to rout the former world number one.
Berdych has now beaten Roddick four times out of their 10 encounters. They last met at 2010 ATP World Tour Finals, when the Czech prevailed in straight sets 7-5, 6-3 in the round robin stage.
Talking to the reporters after the match, Berdych admitted, “It’s always hard, and today was even a bigger challenge for me to play Andy in this place. It’s always something which adds something a little extra to the match and
to the game, so I’m even more happy with the way the game went, and especially that I finished it with the win today.”
Roddick said, praising his opponent, “I thought he played really well in the third set. Actually hit the ball better than I had. In the third he was too good for me tonight.”
Berdych will play 12th seed, Nicolas Almagro of Spain, in the fourth round.
Tags: