Tomas Berdych outlasts Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in second round robin match – ATP World Tour Finals 2012
Fifth seed, Tomas Berdych, kept alive his chances of qualifying for the semi-finals, beating the seventh seeded Frenchman, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, in their second robin match in Group A at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals in London.
Berdych showed solid temperament in a match which was very important for him to stay in contention for the last-four spot. He won a tough opener and then went down in the second set but the Czech star was unstoppable in the decider,
winning the contest 7-5, 3-6, 6-1 in one hour and 52 minutes.
There was no drama at the beginning of the encounter, as both players comfortably held their serve in the first six games to take the score to 3-3. Tsonga faced a couple of break threats in the seventh one but put them away to
keep it on track for a tie-breaker. However, he couldn’t do the same in the 11th game and also lost the next one to go down 5-7.
The French number one played aggressively in the second set, breaking Berdych in the fourth game and winning his next serve to take a 4-1 lead. Tsonga faced some trouble to close out the set but succeeded in the end, triumphing
6-3.
Berdych came under pressure in the very first game of the decider and it looked like victory was going out of his reach. However, the Czech contender not only managed to hold that serve but also grabbed five of the subsequent six
games, closing it 6-1.
When asked to comment on the situation he faced in the opening game of the final set, Berdych said, “That was the [key] moment I would say of the match. Jo had some chances the beginning of the third set. I was able to hold. Then
once I get my first chance in the third set, I took it. That was the difference between us today.”
Berdych will face the world number one, Novak Djokovic, in his last round robin match. The Czech star’s fate will not only depend on that encounter but also on Andy Murray and Tsonga’s.
He added, “I don't like mathematics at all. I will try to play tennis, and that's it. I will try my best. But Novak just [has] shown how great he's playing right now and that he deserve to be [the] No. 1 player in the world. It's
a huge challenge for me.”
Berdych is featuring at the season ending championships for the third consecutive year.
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