ATP BARCLAYS UPDATE BROUGHT TO US BY RICKY DIMON / BERDYCH , CILIC , WAWRINKA , DJOKOVIC

Written by: Staff on 12th November 2014

ATP BARCLAYS UPDATE BROUGHT TO US BY RICKY DIMON / BERDYCH , CILIC , WAWRINKA , DJOKOVIC

epa04484165 Stanislas Wawrinka of Switzerland returns the ball 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 |

Berdych stays alive at World Tour Finals, all but eliminates Cilic

By Ricky Dimon

Singles competition at the World Tour Finals gave us its seventh consecutive straight-setter when Tomas Berdych rolled over Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-1 on Wednesday afternoon.

Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic returns the ball to Marin Cilic of Croatia during their singles round robin game at the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 12 November 2014. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA

Berdych needed only one hour and 15 minutes to even his round-robin record at 1-1. Cilic, on the other hand, fell to 0-2 overall, 0-4 in sets, and 6-24 in games to all but seal his early-exit fate in London. Even if Cilic beats Stan Wawrinka in straight sets on Friday (unlikely) and Djokovic beats both Wawrinka and Berdych in straights, the Croat would still be a longshot to overcome his current deficit in games.

Both Berdych and Cilic were coming off humbling 6-1, 6-1 losses on Monday. Berdych dropped his opener to Wawrinka and Cilic went down in flames to Djokovic.

Only Berdych recovered in time for his second match of the week. Cilic got off to another inauspicious start by donating a long service game to open the match. The U.S. Open champion stayed within striking distance by coming back from 15-40 down at 2-4 in the first set, but he could not get back on level terms. Berdych also held from 15-40 behind at 4-3 then wrapped up the opener in style with his second break of the day.

It was all but over when Cilic failed to capitalize on two more break chances at 1-1 in the second, this despite getting an easy look at a second-serve return. The world No. 9’s final collapse began while leading 30-0 in the fourth game. Berdych managed to break for 3-1 and did not look back. The seventh-ranked Czech delivered an ace on break point at 5-1, 30-40, thwarted another one with a forehand winner at ad-out, then closed out the proceedings two points later.

“I felt much better on the court,” Berdych assured, comparing this one to his first match. “But still it was not one of my best. I think that’s the beauty of this event. One day you can be swept out from the court like I did, and in two days’ time you can come up and you can play different tennis.”

Interestingly, Berdych has now lost his opening match in five consecutive year-end championship appearances only to win his next one every single time. He admitted, too, that he got some help from his opponent this time around.

Marin Cilic (R) of Croatia leaves the court after losing to Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic in their singles round robin game at the ATP World Tour Finals tennis tournament at the O2 Arena in London, Britain, 12 November 2014. EPA/FACUNDO ARRIZABALAGA

“Let’s put it this way: with the way [Cilic] played, he would never win a U.S. Open.”

“It’s of course a little bit disappointing to play like this,” Cilic said. “I was not expecting it. But sort of I feel a little bit tired. It’s unfortunate, as well. I was looking forward to [playing] here, to do well, to play good matches on a high level.

“I played against the guys who are at the top of the game. Especially with these guys at this kind of level, even (if you make) small mistakes–or if you’re not at your best–the outcome is not going to be in your favor.”

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

Topics: ATP Barclays, Marin Cilic, Novak Djokovic, Ricky Dimon, Stan Wawrinka, tennis update, Tomas Berdych

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10sBalls_com says:

November 12, 2014 at 12:34 pm

#ATP BARCLAYS UPDATE BROUGHT TO US BY @RD_Tennistalk/ @tomasberdych, @cilic_marin, @stanwawrinka, @DjokerNole http://t.co/MpZ9Z1bOJP #tennis