Berdych Bounces Murray In Monte-Carlo, Will Face Djokovic in Semis

By Chris Oddo

Photo: Lionel Cironneau / AP

(April 20, 2012)—In a battle of former Roland Garros semifinalists, Tomas Berdych moved past Andy Murray 6-7(4), 6-3, 6-2 today.

 

Berdych dropped the first set—after squandering four set points in the twelfth game—in a tiebreaker.

 

Surviving the nearly eleven minute game and ensuing tiebreaker should have provided Murray with an emotional boost, but the burly Czech seemed more emboldened afterwards. Berdych was unfazed by the setback—in total, he failed to convert on seven of seven break point opportunities in the first set—and rebounded nicely to gain the upper hand in the second set.

 

“After the first set I had a feeling that my game is quite good today,” said Berdych. “I was quite confident that we can go three sets, and always the last point counts.”

 

Berdych broke twice in the second set, and dropped only four points on his serve, to send the match into a decider.

 

“The start of the second set he obviously started playing better and my level dropped,” said Murray, who missed a chance to reach his third Monte-Carlo semifinal in four years.

 

The third set opened with three breaks of serve, and Berdych gained the upper hand when he held to go up 3-1. The 26-year-old then broke again in the final game of the match to advance to his second Monte-Carlo semifinal, where world No. 1 Novak Djokovic waits.

 

Murray was adamant that the result was more about Berdych’s strong play than any deficiency on his part.

 

“Every time I lose a match I get asked ‘What did you do wrong?’” said Murray. “Sometimes the guys play well. He played extremely well today. He dictated a lot of the points, he went for his shots, and he served very well.”

 

“No matter how much you would like to dictate some of the points, when someone serves 130 mph to the line and then hits a forehand to the line, you can’t dictate the point,” said Murray.

 

Berdych now owns a 4-2 career advantage over Murray, and has won both of their meetings on clay.