Tomas Berdych cripples Nicolas Mahut to reach the third round – Sony Ericsson Open 2012
Seventh seed, Tomas Berdych, blasted past the French tennis star, Nicolas Mahut, with a breadstick at the Sony Ericsson Open 2012 on Friday. He clobbered a 7-5, 6-1 victory over the 30-year-old to book a spot in the third round at this hard court tournament
taking place at Tennis Center at Crandon Park.
The world number seven showed top class performance at this ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour Masters 1000 event and crushed Mahut in straight sets. Encountering each other for the fourth time, Berdych not only maintained his winning record
at the FedEx ATP Head 2 Head series against the French but also advanced into the round of 32.
Berdych, who already clinched a title at the Open Sud de France earlier this season, entered the Floridian hard courts with poise. He was broken down twice but cashed in three out of nine break opportunities to bag the opener by winning seven games to five.
The Czech formulated a poor first serve share of 48 per cent but brilliantly availed 12 out of 15 points on it.
The Czech raised the bar of his game in the following set and cruised to swipe in entire serves without facing any hindrance. He then capitalised on three out of seven break chances to pull out the breadstick. Berdych again produced a lower first serve share
of 47 per cent in contrast with Mahut’s 56 per cent but spectacularly clinched seven out of eight points on it.
Up next for Berdych is the Bulgarian ace, Grigor Dimitrov, who stunned the 29th seed, Juan Ignacio Chela, in a three set nail-biter to set-up this date. Dimitrov lost his track in the second set but broke Chela’s serve twice in the final set to
seal the match with a 6-2, 4-6, 6-4 score line.
The 26th seed, Milos Raonic, warded off early resistance against Arnaud Clement to earn the limelight later that day. He was broken down once but smacked 17 aces to pull out the victory with a 7-6(7), 6-2 success in one hour and 43 minutes. Raonic
cashed in three out of nine break opportunities to triumph over the French qualifier.
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