By Alberto Amalfi | Friday, October 23, 2015
Tomas Berdych beat Grigor Dimitrov to stretch his Stockholm winning streak to 10 matches.
Photo credit: Sebastian Ullberg/If Stockholm Open
Stockholm is beginning to look a bit like Berd Land.
In a rematch of the 2014 final, defending champion Tomas Berdych beat 2013 champion Grigor Dimitrov, 7-5, 6-4, to stretch his Stockholm winning streak to 10 matches.
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The top-seeded Czech will play either 46th-ranked Marcos Baghdatis or eighth-seeded Gilles Muller in the semifinals.
Dimitrov had won three of five prior meetings with Berdych with all five matches going the three-set distance.
The fifth-seeded Bulgarian stayed in step with Berdych for much of the first set. Berdych repeatedly challenged Dimitrov's backhand return on big points. He won 30 of 35 points played on his first serve and defended his second serve more effectively than Dimitrov.
The 30-year-old Czech did not face a break point taking the first set.
In the second set, Berdych bolted a forehand down the line to save a break point, holding with an ace for 2-all.
Self-doubt contributed to Dimitrov's demise. A netted backhand and double fault off the tape put him in a double break-point bind.
Dimitrov tried to jam the returner with a biting serve into the body. Berdych fought off the serve and answered with a fine angled backhand return winner to break for 5-4.
Whipping a diagonal backhand return winner, Dimitrov earned break point in the final game. Berdych hit a kick serve to the backhand coaxing an errant return to erase break point. A forehand volley winner brought him to match point. Berdych closed in 89 minutes raising his Stockholm record to 12-3.