Tomas Berdych battles past Sam Querrey into the quarters – Shanghai Rolex Masters 2012
Ranked seventh in the world, Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic, moved closer to qualifying for the ATP World Tour Finals, as he defeated USA’s world number 22, Sam Querrey, in three sets 6-2, 6-7(3), 6-4 at the last-16 stage of the
Shanghai Rolex Masters.
The Czech contestant is currently sixth in the race to London and needed two hours and 13 minutes to win this match. This hard court tournament is the only ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event that is held in Asia.
Berdych and Querrey made a stable start, as they won their serve in the opening four games to equalise the score at 2-2. However, it was an all Berdych show afterwards, as he struck twice and held his entire serve, clinching four
in a row to capture it 6-2.
The Czech star fired three aces and did not commit any double fault, maintaining a first serve percentage of merely 57 but winning 12 of the 13 points on them. The 6ft 5in tall faced a tough time on Querrey’s first deliveries,
losing 12 of the 18 points on them but balanced that by winning five of the seven on the second ones in the opener.
Querrey broke Berdych in the fifth game of the second set to take a 3-2 lead but the Czech number one did not take much time to even it out at 3-3. Both players held their entire serves in the rests of the set, squaring off the
proceedings at 6-6 and forcing a tie-breaker. Querrey clinched six of the first seven points to take a 6-1 lead and grabbed it 7-6(3).
The American national banged in five aces but also made three double faults in the second set. The 25-year-old secured 21 of the 25 points on the first serves and utilised one of the two break opportunities he created.
Berdych grabbed a breakthrough in the opening game of the final set and held his following serve to take a 2-0 advantage. The 2010 Wimbledon finalist sustained his lead till the end, sealing it 6-4.
The Czech participant will play the fifth seed, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, in the quarter-finals.
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