Tomas Berdych vs Janko Tipsarevic – Round Robin Preview: Barclays ATP World Tour Finals 2011
On day four of the season’s grand finale, the Barclays ATP (Association of Tennis Professionals) World Tour Finals, the seventh ranked Czech, Tomas Berdych, will take on the first alternate, Janko Tipsarevic, in his second Round
Robin matchup.
The crucial Group A contest will be held on the indoor hard courts of the glorious O2 Arena in London on Wednesday night. With the home favourite world number three, Andy Murray pulling out of the tournament due to a groin strain,
world number nine, Tipsarevic, received the golden opportunity to replace him in the elite eight-man field as the first alternate.
Seventh seed Berdych has been in a decent form throughout the current season, with a 51-21 winning ratio. The Czech number one bagged just one ATP championship title this year but has managed to remain among the Top-10 male players.
His consistent performances with the racquet earned him a place in the circuit mega event but the seventh seed lost his opening Round Robin matchup against the world number one, Novak Djokovic, on Monday. Berdych was once in complete control of the contest
against the top seed and was on the verge of victory by crafting a match point in the second set. He was denied by the sheer brilliance of Djokovic, who went on to close out the contest in his favour.
Berdych desperately needs a win to remain alive in the race to the semi-finals and with Murray withdrawing from the tournament, it is anticipated that it can be a perfect opportunity for the Czech number one to make his way back
in the competition. Even in the absence of Murray, it won’t be that easy for Berdych to secure a semi-final berth, as he still has to take down Tipsarevic and the world number five, David Ferrer, with reason margins in his next two encounters.
The lucky Serbian, Tipsarevic, has been in his prime form this season, lunging forward 39 places from number 49 to clinch the ninth spot in the ATP World Rankings by the end of the year. He bagged the first two ATP championship
titles of his career in the current year and is riding his best singles ranking ever, breaking into the Top-10 first the first time in his nine-year professional tennis career.
Tipsarevic will not be just a first alternate player for Berdych to beat, as the Serbian has a stunning record against the world number seven. Tipsarevic leads 4-1 against Berdych in singles encounter, with his four-match winning
streak broken by the Czech just a week ago. The ninth ranked Serb had registered two victories over Berdych, first at Montreal Masters and then at the US Open, earlier this season, while their most recent clash at the BNP Paribas masters was won by Berdych
in straight sets, 7-5, 6-4.
The two men have played all of their five matches on hard courts against each other and the Wednesday’s matchup won’t be any different. Defeating Tipsarevic in their last meeting will certainly give huge confidence to Berdych but
the Serbian will come out with all guns blazing, as he has got nothing to lose in the event. A straight sets win for Berdych after a stiff contest is expected tonight.
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