Tomas Berdych ousts Nicolas Almagro to advance to quarters – US Open 2012
Sixth seed, Tomas Berdych of Czech Republic, reached the US Open quarter-finals for the first time by defeating Spain’s Nicolas Almagro in straight sets, 7-6(4), 6-4, 6-1, in the fourth round at the Flushing Meadows in New York
on Monday.
The Czech star needed exactly two hours to topple his opponent in a contest which proved to be faily one-sided in the end.
Berdych did not have much good results in the summer but entered the US Open on the back of runners up performance at the Winston-Salem Open.
In his fourth round match here against Almagro, the first set went to the wire, as none of the two players managed to break other till the end, equalising the score at 6-6 and taking it to a tie-breaker. Berdych raced to a 4-1
lead in the beginning and maintained it till the end to triumph 7-6(4).
First half of the second set was not different from the opener, with both players holding their serves in the opening six games to take the score to 3-3. Berdych succeeded in capturing breakthrough in the seventh and made the most
of it to win 6-4.
The Czech star did not look behind after getting two sets to love lead, as he started to play superb fore hand shots and rushed to the net to take volley points. This attacking strategy proved too much for Almagro, who managed
to claim just a single game in the entire set, going down 1-6.
Berdych acknowledged that first set was crucial in his victory, as winning it shifted momentum on his side. Talking to the reporters at the end of the match, the Czech player said, "I think the key was the first set, which was
really close, especially the tie-break was decided in one or two points. I was the one who made it, and then I started even better in the second set when I get my chance for the break."
The world number seven will take on top ranked, Roger Federer, in the quarter-finals.
Commenting on Swiss Maestro, Berdych added, "He has been playing some incredible tennis again. He won another Grand Slam, become No. 1 again, so probably there is no better player at all to play right now. When I saw the draw in
the beginning, I was like, 'Yeah, that would be the goal to get into play a match with Roger.’”
Out of the15 previous matches against the 17-time Grand Slam winner, Berdych clinched victory in just four.
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