By Richard Pagliaro | Wednesday, July 6, 2016
Tomas Berdych swept Lucas Pouille, 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-2, to advance to his first Wimbledon semifinal since 2010.
Photo credit: Getty
Coping with the stress of a Grand Slam schedule can sometimes feel as demanding as managing the court during rallies.
Tomas Berdych needed two days to ward off compatriot Jiri Vesely in a five-set fourth-round win.
The ninth-ranked Czech was in no mood to work overtime today.
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Berdych blasted past Grand Slam quarterfinal debutant Lucas Pouille, 7-6 (4), 6-3, 6-2, to burst into his second Wimbledon semifinal.
It is Berdych's first SW19 semifinal since he defeated top-ranked Roger Federer and third-ranked Novak Djokovic in succession to reach the 2010 final, falling to Rafael Nadal.
"Everything has been quite quick, going day by day," Berdych said. "It was not really the right schedule, how you usually have it. But it feels great."
"I mean, it's great to be in the semis again. But there's still a lot left to play. That's my main focus right now again. "
On a day in which seven-time champion Roger Federer fought off three match points rallying from a two-set deficit to defeat Marin Cilic and 2013 champion Andy Murray was pushed to five sets by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Berdych drained the drama after taking the opening-set tie break.
"The first set, at the beginning, I was a bit finding the right rhythm because obviously, I mean, the opponent before was completely different game style, everything was quite different," Berdych said. "So just trying to find the rhythm back again, which I did finally in the end of the first set.
"Since then on, everything was fine. I was able to dictate the game, play what I wanted. Afterwards, it was pretty straightforward."
Punishing Pouille's second serve with flat strikes on return, Berdych broke serve four times, winning 30 of 45 points played on the Frenchman's second serve.
Contesting his 15th major quarterfinal, including his third of this season, Berdych controlled the center of the court did not give the 30th-ranked Frenchman too much time to respond.
"Definitely those are the experience from the 2010 (final) that I will try to look back," Berdych said. "But mostly is the fact that that was the first time which I show myself that I can play well for two weeks. I can beat the best guys not only at the beginning of the tournament, but also in the later stages. That's just the few things that I'm going to try to focus on."
Berdych's focus now shifts to 2013 champion Murray, the man standing between Berdych and a return trip to the final.
The second-seeded Murray withstood a late charge from Tsonga scoring a 7-6 (10), 6-1, 3-6, 4-6, 6-1 victory in three hours, 54 minutes.
Murray and Berdych have quite a history including a contentious 2014 Australian Open semifinal clash, which Murray won in four sets. Berdych had been working with former Murray coach Dani Vallverdu before dismissing Vallverdu following a humiliating double-bagel thrashing to David Goffin on the red clay of Rome in May.
Berdych says the pair have put their bickering behind them calling their relationship "absolutely fine", but knows the ornery Scot will have the Centre Court crowd behind him when they meet in Friday's semifinals.
"It's definitely the way I'm playing," Berdych said. "(I will) try to push him as hard as I can, being aggressive, not giving him the time to create the game."