Tomas Berdych is through to the fourth round at Wimbledon. His opponent, Alexander Zverev, pushed the Czech player to four sets, but eventually the big righty took the match with a 6-3, 6-4, 4-6, 6-1 victory. He now moves on to the round of 16, hoping to rekindle the magic of his 2010 run to the final.
An easy start
The match looked like it would be a snoozer as Berdych got off to a rather easy start against the young Zverev. After two quick holds by both players, Berdych used his deadly forehand shot to smash a winner in the green grass on Centre Court. That shot created a break opportunity for the world number nine. This was only possible due to a litany of errors committed by the lesser experienced German player on the day. Despite his penchant for hitting nifty shots, he would occasionally take himself off-kilter with his forehand game.
Zverev couldn't stand tall to the challenge he was facing early in the first set. On set-point, he committed a costly double fault that gave a crucial early break to the 2010 Wimbledon runner-up.
Berdych, for his part, never faced a single break in the opening set. He easily coasted through the rest of the set with remarkable efficiency while on serve.
Small trouble ahead
The second set proved to be more of the same. Zverev lost serve in the seventh game of the set and proved no match for Berdych's aggressive playing style. While the young player often goes for difficult to make shots, the Czech neutralised them at every opportunity. He used his large wingspan to dig out any tough groundstrokes Zverev sent over the net.
The German number two can take some solace in the fact that he posed significant trouble for the more experienced Czech in the third set. Not going away without some semblance of a fight, Zverev sent a shout of joy as he broke for the first time in the fourth game of the set. The German also wowed the crowd by saving three break points in a single game later in the set. While Berdych would actually win convert on the fifth opportunity, it was the younger player who impressed with his determined nature. He stormed back to finally claim a set victory on the day.
However, the day belonged to Berdych. He pumped out 14 aces and an impressive 44 winners in his winning effort. In beating Zverev, Berdych beat a seeded player at Wimbledon for the first time in three years. For a player who has had his fair share of disappointments on the year, he looked the vintage part today. He reminded people just how deadly his forehand and adept style of play can be. With an impressive tournament so far, many people left Centre Court today wondering one thing: this guy may actually give himself a chance to win this whole thing this time around.