Tomas Berdych dispatches Andy Murray to enter into the last four – Monte Carlo Rolex Masters 2012
British number one, Andy Murray, was the victim of a quarter-final exit from the Monte Carlo Rolex Masters at the hands of the seventh ranked Czech, Tomas Berdych. He won the first set in a tie-breaker but played miserably in the
following sets to lose 7-6(4), 2-6, 3-6.
All the dreams of the British big gun were shattered at the clay courts in two hours and 48 minutes. He was pumped up to prove his worth to the world but this loss will definitely thump his confidence and push him further into
the critic’s zone.
The sixth seed Czech played emphatically well to deny the Briton of a semi-final spot. He lost no serve game in the first set and exerted immense pressure on the Briton all the way. Even in the tie-breaker, he was the better contestant
but the luck wasn’t on his side.
A couple of returns stayed low and made it impossible for the Czech to play any sort of returns. Two free points in the tie-breaker round helped Murray to escape a scare in the first set. A difference of just a single point in
the end separated the winner from the loser in the opening set.
Despite losing such a gruelling battle in the opening set in an unlucky fashion, Berdych kept his calm and was rewarded in the form of a breakpoint early in the second set. He led the scores 3-1 and powered down the British tennis
icon for the second breakthrough in the seventh game. Suddenly, everything started favouring the Czech and he sealed the second set win with ease.
The final set witnessed three back-to-back breakthroughs in the start that were led by the Czech in the ratio of 2:1. A thumping serve hold in the fourth game consolidated the lead for Berdych to 3-1. Murray was almost on the verge
of losing third straight serving game but did well to hang on and decrease the trail.
Czech sixth seed contender kept on the pressure on his counterpart and didn’t lose any breakpoint on his serve until the end. Murray just had one allotted opportunity to break serve in the second game and that was it. However,
he was victim of three successful breakthroughs that confirmed the triumph for the Czech.
Tomas Berdych will be up against the winner of the clash between the reigning world number one, Novak Djokovic, and the Dutch surprise package, Robin Haase.
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