Tomas Berdych took part in a rocky Sunday in Miami, where he was forced to save an onslaught of match points to claw his way into the fourth round. His next match-up is against Gael Monfils, whom he has encountered on five previous occasions on the ATP World Tour, and holds a 4-1 lead in the head-to-head series.
Watch the match Live Here: Berdych vs Monfils Miami Live Stream
Up against the resurgent Aussie Bernard Tomic, Tomas Berdych was required to save four match points before he was finally able to secure the 6-7(4), 7-6(3), 6-1 victory. He struck 10 aces and hit 39 winners to close out the match in two hours and 35 minutes.
Later on in the day, Gael Monfils brought a premature end to his fellow Frenchman’s return to the tour when he handed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga his first loss of the year. He defeated his countryman 6-4,7-6(4) and even saved four break points in the process to ensure his win. It was Monfils’ first victory against Tsonga in five years and brought the h2h series to 2-4. For Tsonga, it was a decent showing given that he had just come off an extended spell on the sidelines with an arm injury.
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This marks the fifth time that Berdych and Monfils will cross paths on the ATP World Tour, with Berdych leading the series 4-1. Berdych won their most recent encounter in the Rotterdam, and is 3-0 against the Frenchman on hard courts. The Frenchman’s sole win against Berdych came in the 2013 French Open, where he defeated the Czech native 7-6 6-4 6-7 6-7 7-5. With that in mind, he has only ever managed to take one set off Berdych in their entire rivalry so it is unlikely that this match will be too troubling for the Czech.
Prediction: Tomas Berdych in Three Sets