Tomas Berdych rallies past Jarkko Nieminen into the quarter-finals of Internazionali BNL d’Italia
World number 7, Swede Tomas Berdych scored a tough victory over world number 59 Jarkko Nieminen of Finland, defeating him in three sets 6-2, 6-7(4), 6-2 in the third round of the Internazionali BNL d’Italia at Foro Italico in Rome on Thursday. The Finn needed two hours and 42 minutes to win a marathon match.
Berdych broke Nieminen in the fourth game of the opening set and held his serve in the next game to build a 4-1 lead. Serving to stay in the set at 4-5, Nieminen was broken again as he hit a backhand outside the court, losing the set 4-6.
The Czech hit a single ace and 60 percent of the first deliveries, claiming 73 percent of the points on them in the first set. Nieminen was erratic with his second serves as he committed four double faults in the first set. The Finn had a low first serve percentage, hitting just 56 percent of the first serves and capturing 75 percent of the points on them. Berdych converted two of the nine break point chances he created and succeeded in saving both break points he faced in the first set.
Nieminen got the perfect start to the second set as he broke Berdych in the opening game and held his serve in the second game, taking a 2-0 lead. However, the Czech responded immediately and won two successive games to tie the score at 2-2. After that, both players held their serve in the next eight games, forcing a tie-break. The Finn handled the pressure better than his opponent and clinched a single mini-break to win the tie-break 7-4.
The left-handed improved his serve as he did not commit any double fault and fired 57 percent of the first serves in the second set. On the other hand, Berdych’s serve deteriorated as he committed a couple of double faults and managed to deliver a mere 48 percent of the first serves in the second set.
After losing a tight second set, Berdych looked a completely different player as he started to play aggressively in the final set. The Czech broke his opponent in the opening game and held his next service game to go ahead 2-0. The right-handed broke again in the seventh game and served out the set at 5-2.
Berdych was lucky to win the set despite serving quite badly as he was able to hit just 30 percent of the first serves in the third set. The 25-year-old clinched two of the four break points he received in the final set.
The Czech is drawn to play French Richard Gasquet, ranked 16th in the world, in the quarterfinals. Gasquet upset world number 3, Swiss Maestro Roger Federer in three sets 4-6, 7-6(2), 7-6(4) in the third round.
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