Berdych captures Tokyo title

 

Originally published on: 26/02/10 12:04

The championship was the fourth for Berdych, who had last won at Halle in 2007.

Berdych got off to a rousing start, blowing through del Potro in the first set. The second set was more challenging, but Berdych held off del Potro’s three attempts to break in the match and finished off his foe in one hour 18 minutes.

The Czech won 27 of 31 points on his first serve, enabling him to control the flow of the match.

Berdych had booked his spot in the final with an upset of Andy Roddick in the semi-finals. The American had Berdych down 5-3 in the final set but failed to close out the Czech, who rallied and took the match in a tiebreaker.

The 12th-ranked del Potro, 20, had never won on the ATP Tour before capturing four consecutive tournaments during the summer, and he followed that with an impressive quarterfinal effort at the US Open.

Now get the WORLD’S BEST TENNIS MAGAZINE here