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Berdych overcomes Davydenko

Tomas Berdych ousted Russia’s Nikolay Davydenko in straight sets on Centre Court, on Wednesday.

The third-seeded Czech achieved two service breaks – to Davydenko’s one – to claim the first set 6-3 before saving a couple of set points when serving at 4-5, 15-40 down in the second.

A tiebreak duly ensued, which the heavy-hitting powerhouse edged 7-5 to progress through to a last-eight tussle with Philipp Petzschner, of Germany, ahead of a potential clash with Serbian Davis Cup hero Djokovic.

“It was a quite big test for me,” said Berdych, who had the chance to serve it out at 6-5 up having broken Davydenko’s serve, only to be broken immediately afterwards for the match to be settled on a first-to-seven decider.

“It’s especially tough against Nikolay because he likes to play fast, long rallies and he’s very solid from the baseline.

“He’s a really tough opponent; he’s not going to give you a single point just like that. That’s what he was trying to do all match and that’s why I’m even more happy just to have gotten through than say in other matches.

“It was a very tough match, particularly in the end as I was serving to finish the match, although it didn’t go well. But then, it was a good fightback in the tiebreak.”

Berdych then was delighted to have seen off a talented competitor in Davydenko and now only has another hurdle between him and a semi spot, even if he’s only too aware that could well prove his undoing if a back-to-basics, methodological approach isn’t maintained.

“The last two matches we played were very close – and tough – ones,” the Monaco-based pro explained when referring to recent games against Petzschner.

“He has done well in the doubles over the last few years and you can get a large amount of confidence from that.

“He plays a very aggressive game and he likes this surface and fast conditions. He’s done well and can play very well.

“For me, it’s just the next opponent that I need to get prepared for. I need to get relaxed, prepare again and start from the beginning; take things point by point and try to go through again.”

For Davydenko, the defeat wasn’t entirely without its positives as he showed glimpses of the form that took him to the 2009 ATP World Tour Finals title, which has deserted him since the start of the year.

“It’s a really difficult situation for me at the moment because I’ve lost in the first round of the Australian Open and in Rotterdam and Marseilles,” he admitted.

alex@khaleejtimes.com