The Tomas Berdych juggernaut has landed in the Wimbledon final after the 12th seed backed up his quarter-final victory over Roger Federer with 6-3, 7-6(9) 6-3 defeat of Novak Djokovic in the semis.
In a match where Djokovic delivered errors at some of the worst possible moments (double faults at set point in the second set tiebreak and to hand his opponent a break and the chance to serve for the match in the third), Berdych produced an aggressive brand of tennis that allowed him to dictate play for the majority of the day and after wobbling a couple of times as he sought to close out the second set, had no such problems when it came to serving out the match.
For the first four games of the contest today, each player’s serve proved impenetrable, with Djokovic gaining the first opportunity to challenge when scores were locked at deuce in the fifth game of the match on Berdych’s serve, but a pair of aces got the Czech out of any potential trouble.
The very next game, it was Berdych who generated a double break point opportunity and when the third seed netted a forehand, the man who defeated Roger Federer in the quarter-finals had some breathing space with a 4-2 lead.
While the 12th seed double faulted on his first chance to take the opening set, he made no mistake with his second opportunity, with a crisp off-forehand winner securing Berdych the 1-0 lead in the match against an opponent who looked to be struggling to muster the energy for the contest in the early stages of the semi.
It was Djokovic who had the chance to gain the early ascendency in the second set when he created a break point chance in its fourth game – it could have been a triple break point opportunity but at 0-30 the Serb stopped play to challenge a call at his baseline only to be proven wrong by millimetres – but it was saved by another sizzling Berdych forehand and the world No. 13 went on to hold.
It was Berdych who then squandered two chances to break serve in the next game but it was Djokovic who was making hard work of it out on centre court and eventually it was Berdych who secured the break - when the 2008 Australian Open champion failed to find the court with an easy overhead – and the chance to serve for a 2-0 lead in the match.
Djokovic, however, dug deep and almost in spite of himself after netting the ball on his first break point chance, and failing to make the most of a Berdych stumble before winning the point to set up another, broke back to force the set into a tiebreak.
It was reason enough for Djokovic to send a determined fist pump in the direction of his box, but after failing to serve out the set, Berdych won the opening three points of the breaker to set up what would ultimately be four set points, all of which were saved by Djokovic, who chose the perfect time to produce some of his most inspired tennis of the match as his opponent once again tightened up under pressure.
But after doing all the hard work to get back into the tiebreak, it was eventually Djokovic who, serving at 9-10, gifted the set to Berdych with a double fault, venting his frustration on his racquet as he made his way back to his chair.
With Berdych placing one foot in the final, Djokovic was faced with the prospect of coming back from two sets behind, a position he’s only ever once recovered from to win the match (which he did against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in the second round at Wimbledon in 2005).
While games remained on serve for most of the final set, consecutive double faults by Djokovic handed Berdych the 5-3 lead and the chance to serve for the match, and this time the Czech did not falter under the pressure of the occasion.
It’s a victory that means for the first time in his career, Berdych has reached the final of a Grand Slam, and after his two most recent victories, whichever of Andy Murray or Rafael Nadal face him on centre court on Sunday will know they are playing an opponent with the powerful serve and ground strokes, as well as the self-belief, to potentially write his name into the history books as a Wimbledon champion.
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