Tomas Berdych ousts Stanislas Wawrinka in fourth rubber – Davis Cup WG 2013
World number six, Tomas Berdych, rallied past the Swiss star, Stanislas Wawrinka, in a four-set thriller to take Czech Republic into the quarter-finals at the Davis Cup 2013 on Sunday.
The Czech number one and Wawrinka battled each other for the 10th time at the Palexpo in Geneva, Switzerland. Both contestants met each other in the doubles rubber on Saturday as well. Despite rallying past each other for seven hours in the doubles
match, Berdych gathered his strength in the fourth rubber and eventually took his nation to the final eight.
The Czech star was quoted in a courtside interview after stealing the show against Wawrinka:
"It was an incredible weekend. Yesterday was a part of history and today was a really tough one. I've played [Wawrinka] many times and actually he's not one of the opponents that I like to play. He has a really dangerous game. But it was my best matches
with him. It was a team effort to get ready for the match and I was feeling good from the first point. If I'd lost the fourth set, I would have been able to keep going."
Berdych made a strong entry at this indoor hard court event. He drew the first blood in the second game and jumped to a 3-0 lead. The Czech held his remaining serves with poise and eventually bagged the opener with a 6-3 win.
The 27-year-old Czech kept his momentum rolling in the proceeding set. Apart from exchanging a serve break, Berdych remained focused and eventually got the breakthrough in the ninth game. He ultimately sealed the set by winning six games to four.
The former Top 10 star, Wawrinka rebounded in the third set. He got the desiderated break in the second game and leaped to a 3-0 lead. The Swiss kept his remaining serves and subsequently clinched the set with a 6-3 score line.
In the fourth set, both challengers displayed brilliant tennis and kept their respective serves with poise. However, Berdych unleashed his skills in end of the tie-breaker and eventually clicked the set with a 7-6(5) success.
The Czechs lost the fifth rubber but recorded a 3-2 victory against Switzerland.
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