Tennis: Berdych breaks down countryman Vesely in Shenzhen
Berdych of Czech Republic overcame his countryman and eighth seed Jiri Vesely 7-6(1), 3-6, 6-2
BEIJING (AFP) - Top seed Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic overcame his countryman and eighth seed Jiri Vesely 7-6(1), 3-6, 6-2 at the Shenzhen Open Friday, bouncing back from a second-set loss to secure a spot in the semi-finals.
The 31-year-old Berdych, ranked 9th in the world, will face Thomaz Bellucci on Saturday after the Brazilian bulldozed over fourth seed Bernard Tomic 6-2, 6-2, winning 93 percent of first serve points and slamming 14 aces to Tomic s three.
Winning the hour-long quarter-final contest gave the Brazilian a 2-1 edge in their head-to-head record in ATP competition, with Tomic winning their last clash three years ago in the US.
Third seed Richard Gasquet of France meanwhile squeezed past German qualifier Mischa Zverev 7-6(4), 7-6(2) to win a place in the semi-finals against Janko Tipsarevic of Serbia.
While knocking down only three aces to Zverev s 10, he won 77 percent of his first serve points in the two-hour clash.
On Saturday he will face Tipsarevic, against whom he has a 2-0 head-to-head record in ATP competition.
The 32-year-old Serbian, once the world s number eight player, seriously injured his foot two years ago and is now ranked 224th on the ATP list.
