The showdown between Czech Republic's Tomas Berdych and Frenchman Jeremy Chardy was a heated affair from the get go as the former found himself serving at 15-40 in his second service game. Berdych managed to save both breakpoints and keep his composure against a mentally charged Chardy by breaking him twice to take the first set 6-2.
Both players showcased some extremely aggressive baseline play, causing the sixth seed to be unable to take control of the match despite winning the first set convincingly. The second set saw both players dominating on serve, with Berdych losing just two points on his first serve, whilst Chardy hit 78 percent first serves in and won 82 percent of said points. Keeping calm despite being on the back foot, Chardy was able to take the set to a tiebreak where both players exchanged mini breaks. The Frenchman edged the higher seeded player however, winning the extremely nerve-wracking tiebreak 10-8.
Set three saw some power hitting from the two sides, with the Czech hitting nineteen winners—seven of them from his monstrous forehand—whilst Chardy kept up by hitting fourteen of his own. Neither player budged on their serve, and the result was another tiebreak, which Berdych won rather convincingly: 7-3.
The quality of play did not diminish in the fourth set, as both sides managed to hit eighteen winners each whilst keeping their unforced error count to single digits. Chardy, pumped by the crowd who demanded a longer match, served to match the Czech's intensity. Bad light hindered the match as Hawkeye could no longer be used to challenge calls, but play went on to a third tiebreak. As the overcast sky covered all rays of sunshine on the court, Berdych ultimately prevailed in the tiebreak 7-5, citing his loss from last year in similar conditions to Marin Cilic as good experience to overcome the issue today in his post-match interview.
Berdych can be happy with his win in tough conditions, however will need to gain even better form if he wants to go deep into the tournament. He next plays another Frenchman: Nicolas Mahut.