Tomas Berdych overcomes David Ferrer to claim a semi’s berth – Barclays ATP World Tour Finals 2011
One of the amazing comebacks of the current season was witnessed on Friday night, when the Czech number one, Tomas Berdych, took down the world number five, David Ferrer of Spain, to finish on top of Group A at the circuit grand
finale, the Barclays ATP (association of Tennis professionals) World Tour Finals.
The seventh seed Berdych recovered from a one-set deficit in the contest to overcome Ferrer in three sets, 3-6, 7-5, 6-1, booking a place in the semi-finals of the mega event at the O2 Arena in London. The Czech finished 2-1 in
the round robin, defeating Ferrer and Janko Tipsarevic, while losing to the top seed Novak Djokovic in a thriller.
Ferrer, who had already made a place in the final four of the tournament, hung in the contest for two hours and eight minutes before crumbling badly in the third set. He was off to a flying start in the opening set but his resilient
opponent steady made his way back in the game and reeled off the last two sets to come out as the winner.
It was Berdych’s third victory in his eighth encounter against Ferrer, who was the runner-up at the 2007 edition of the ATP World Tour Finals. The Czech now improved 53-22 for the current year and is willing to carry on his impetus
in the semi-final round of the mega event in London to finish this year on an assertive note.
“The turning point, I think, was just the one that I made on set point to win the second set, because all the time before I was down,” stated the excited Czech competitor after registering victory. “When I made the second set,
it just gave me a lot of confidence [and] energy. I started to feel really great on court.”
The seventh seed will take on the world number six, Jo-Wilfried Tsonga of France, in the semi-final round to earn the title shot in the final showdown of the season. Tsonga stunned the world number two, Rafael Nadal of Spain on
Thursday night to enter the semi-final stage with a 2-1 record in Group B. Berdych stated that his battle with the sixth seed Tsonga will be most different one as compared to his three round robin clashes. He termed Tsonga to be one of the most lethal competitors
in the game and he needs to go in the semi-final encounter with all guns blazing right from the beginning.
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