BERDYCH’S PAIN IS WAWRINKA’S GAIN AT WORLD TOUR FINALS ON MONDAY BY RICKY DIMON

Written by: Staff on 10th November 2014

BERDYCH'S PAIN IS WAWRINKA'S GAIN AT WORLD TOUR FINALS ON MONDAY BY RICKY DIMON

epa04484130 Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland celebrates after winning his game against Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic during their Group A singles match at the men's ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 10 November 2014. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA |

Tomas Berdych’s self-admitted worst performance of 2014 coincided with Stan Wawrinka’s best match of this fall swing. The result was a 6-1, 6-1 blowout in the Swiss’ favor that lasted a mere 58 minutes. Wawrinka is now 1-0 in round-robin competition at the World Tour Finals, while Berdych is 0-1 and likely to be in a serious tiebreaker deficit having won only two games.

“I didn’t expect to win that easy in the score,” the victor explained. “But I was ready to play well. I [had] a great week of preparation. Even if the result wasn’t there in Basel and Paris, I was feeling the ball really well [on] the practice court.”

Whereas Berdych had collected a recent title in Stockholm and reached the Paris semifinals, Wawrinka had been a disappointing 2-4 since the U.S. Open heading into London. No matter the circumstances, however, Wawrinka often fares well in this head-to-head matchup.

The world No. 4 improved to 10-5 lifetime against Berdych and extended his winning streak in the series to five.

“I think I did play a really good match,” Wawrinka assured after being asked if the outcome was more based on his stellar level or Berdych’s poor play. “If he [played] good or bad, (it) doesn’t matter to me. I’m happy with my performance. I’m happy the way I was playing; returning, almost everything.”

Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland serves against Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic during their Group A singles match at the men’s ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 10 November 2014. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA

Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic returns the ball against Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland during their Group A singles match at the men’s ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 10 November 2014. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA

The third seed dropped a mere five points in seven service games and did not face a single break point. He won 21 of the match’s first 26 points and won 40 points that lasted no more than five shots compared to just 19 such points for Berdych.

“Unfortunately it was my worst match of the whole season,” Berdych admitted. “There are days like that. Now it’s over (and) it’s just a matter of trying to find a way for the next few days.

“You have places where you come and you can hit the ball almost with the eyes closed and everything is perfect. But for me it’s just a bit different here. It’s always a bigger challenge [for] me to find a right rhythm to my game.”

Ricky contributes to 10sballs.com and also maintains his own tennis website, The Grandstand.

Topics: Atp World Tour, Ricky Dimon, Stan Wawrinka, Tennis, Tomas Berdych

Follow 10SBALLS.COM on:

Facebook:

Twitter:

10sBalls_com says:

November 10, 2014 at 12:12 pm

#BERDYCH’S PAIN IS @stanwawrinka’s GAIN AT #ATPWORLDTOURFINALS ON MONDAY BY @RD_Tennistalk- http://t.co/5tiLlCoK1G #tennis @tomasberdych
RD_Tennistalk says:

November 10, 2014 at 1:18 pm

RT @10sBalls_com: #BERDYCH’S PAIN IS @stanwawrinka’s GAIN AT #ATPWORLDTOURFINALS ON MONDAY BY @RD_Tennistalk- http://t.co/5tiLlCoK1G #tenni…