Tomas Berdych reached the Madrid Matua Opens semifinals with an impressive 36 76 76 win over John Isner. It is a good win for Berdych who has made the final here before (when it was played on blue clay in 2012) and who will look to repeat that feat this year.
I want to take a look at how Isner played, though. Even though he lost, his level of play shows promise moving forward, especially looking ahead to Roland Garros. Isner blasted a career-high (in a clay 3-setter) 29 aces and looked better on return than we’ve seen in a long time. Fatigue reared its ugly head late in the third set and Berdych took full advantage, saving his best for last.
First of all, as always, Isner lives by his serve. Isner was serving close to 80% first serves for most of the match and reminded us, once again, why he has the best serve in tennis. Not only is his serve huge, it is far more versatile than any other big servers in the game.
Isner reminded us throughout the match why his second serve is so amazing too. Not only that, he reminded us why clay suits his game so well. His second kick serve takes an incredible bounce, sometimes going all the way over Tomas Berdych’s 6’5″ frame. I once wondered if Isner should hit solely kick serves on clay. Watching this match, I’m wondering it again.
Isner has added an additional element to his game, now. His return of serve has been the biggest liability throughout his career. And Isner is still not so great from the baseline. But he has learned how to counter that beautifully. Isner has the ability to hit huge shots from the baseline and he takes advantage of it. Every second serve he sees is absolutely pummeled. He goes for winners whenever he can on return, especially the second serves.
The tall American always had a massive forehand. The high bounce on clay also brings balls higher into his hitting zone much more often. But it was his backhand that really stood out in this match. He blocked backhand returns throughout the match back into the open court for straight winners from the very beginning of the match. It was a refreshing added element to Isner’s game that will serve him very well moving forward.
Isner took the first set with an early break. He went down 0-40 in the following service game but came back to save all three break points. The second set went without a break for the pair and Berdych finally took the extended tiebreak 9-7. Serve was held throughout the final set and Berdych won 11 of the match’s last 12 points, taking the deciding breaker 7-1.
Berdych will meet Rafael Nadal in the semifinals on Saturday. The #3-seeded Spaniard beat a not-quite-in form Grigor Dimitrov in the first quarterfinal Friday without too much trouble. Nadal himself needs a good result here to keep his ranking up, which could slip outside of the Top 10 after Roland Garros.
Nadal owns the head-to-head with Berdych 18-4, including 17 straight wins from 2007 to 2014. Berdych won their last matchup in straight sets at the Australian Open, essentially just hitting Nadal off the court. The Czech looks in great form this week and will certainly try to do that again.
The semifinal should be a great match. Berdych is playing solid tennis and Nadal is still finding a way back into form. Berdych also will guarantee that he be seeded ahead of Nadal at Roland Garros with a win, meaning that would keep Nadal out of the all-important top four seeds. Whatever happens, it will take some some great play from one of the pair to move on through to the final.
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