RAINED OUT FINALS IN SHENZHEN, TOMAS BERDYCH AND GUILLERMO GARCIA-LOPEZ TO MEET IN MONDAY FINAL – TENNIS NEWS

Written by: Staff on 4th October 2015

RAINED OUT FINALS IN SHENZHEN, TOMAS BERDYCH AND GUILLERMO GARCIA-LOPEZ TO MEET IN MONDAY FINAL - TENNIS NEWS

epa04919459 Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic serves to Richard Gasquet of France during their match on the eighth day of the 2015 US Open Tennis Championship at the USTA National Tennis Center in Flushing Meadows, New York, USA, 07 September 2015. The US Open runs through 13 September, which is a return to a 14-day schedule. EPA/JOHN G. MABANGLO |

Czech and Spaniard survive multiple rain delays

Top seed Tomas Berdych will meet fourth seed Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in what will be a Monday final at a waterlogged Shenzhen Open.

Heavy rain from a typhoon in southern China forced competitors back into the locker room multiple times after semi-final play was washed out on Saturday. Upon resumption, Berdych denied third seed and 2014 runner-up Tommy Robredo 6-1, 6-4 and Garcia-Lopez rallied past second seed Marin Cilic 1-6, 7-5, 6-3.

“It is what it is,” Berdych said about the conditions. “We can’t do anything about the weather. Many years ago I played a final on a Monday and it was very similar to today. Otherwise, we’d have to call it off and there would be no winner.”

Berdych was leading Robredo 6-1, 3-3, deuce, when rain stopped play after 56 minutes of action. He would eventually secure a spot in his fourth ATP World Tour final of the year, where he will seek his first title since Stockholm 2014. The Czech extended his FedEx ATP Head2Head advantage over Robredo to 7-4.

“I tried to win the three previous finals this year and I will try to do the same tomorrow,” Berdych added. “I have to prepare myself as best as I possibly can and bring all my weapons to win the title.”

On Court 1, Garcia-Lopez earned his second victory over Cilic in 2015, rallying from a set down to overcome the Croat. He reached a ninth ATP World Tour final and will look to improve to 3-0 in title matches this year, having emerged victorious on the indoor hard courts of Zagreb (d. Seppi) and on the clay of Bucharest (d. Vesely).

Knotted at three wins apiece, Berdych and Garcia-Lopez have alternated victories in each encounter since their first in 2007. The top seeded Czech most recently triumphed in four sets in the third round of the US Open last month.

( Courtesy of the ATP – http://www.atpworldtour.com/en/news/shenzhen-2015-sunday-semifinals-berdych-cilic-robredo )

Topics: Atp World Tour, Guillermo Garcia Lopez, Shenzhen Open, Sports, Tennis News, Tomas Berdych

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10sBalls_com says:

October 4, 2015 at 10:29 am

RAINED OUT FINALS IN #ShenzhenOpen, @tomasberdych AND @GuillermoGLopez TO MEET IN MONDAY FINAL – #TENNIS NEWS- http://t.co/UZclTmUsSM