Tennis News

After needing four sets to work his way into the second round of the Wimbledon Championships, Tomas Berdych will come up against Frenchman Nicolas Mahut to determine who will be one match away from the second week at The All England Club. This marks the sixth time that the two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour, with Berdych leading the series with a undefeated head-to-head record of 5-0.

The 2010 runner up at the Championships found himself faced with a surprisingly difficult task in his opening round match against Jeremy Chardy at the prestigious grass court Grand Slam event. Berdych fired 55 winners, 16 aces and saved four of the five break points he faced to close out the match in three hours and 11 minutes. He eventually did so with a final score of 6-2, 6-7(8), 7-6(3), 7-6(5).

“The conditions were extremely tough… from the beginning,” said Berdych. “The opponent was playing really good tennis. It was a good test for me to start with.”

Berdych will come up against Nicolas Mahut, who reached the second round at Wimbledon following a four set win against Filip Krajinovic. Following a solid match overall, which included 14 aces, 55 winners and 36 unforced errors, Mahut closed out the contest 7-6(4), 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 in two hours and 46 minutes.

This marks the sixth time that the two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour, with Berdych leading the series with a undefeated head-to-head record of 5-0. Their last meeting took place at the 2014 Rotterdam Open, which Berdych won with little fuss. In fact, the Frenchman has never been able to take a set off Berdych in 11 years worth of matches. While this is their first ever meeting not on a hard court, it is unlikely that much will change this time around.

Following a solid start to his grass court campaign at the All England Club, two-time champion Rafael Nadal will further his campaign with a second round match-up against the always dangerous German Dustin Brown. This is just the second time these two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour with Brown leading the head-to-head series 1-0 following a win at Halle last season.

For the first time since being seeded at the tournament for the first time, Rafael Nadal will have to deal with the draw of a No. 10 seed, as he began his campaign against Thomaz Bellucci, whom he defeated in straight sets. Nadal downed the Brazilian 6-4, 6-2, 6-4 in a match that lasted two hours and 10 minutes. Nadal struck 21 winners and saved four break points during the encounter.

“I think I played okay; played well, played solid,” said Nadal. “I am a little bit more confident now than I was few months ago. [It’s] just day by day for me. Obviously victories help.”

“It is difficult to think about how the match going to be; he’s not a usual player,” Nadal said of his next opponent. “Anything can happen. He beat me last year in Halle. It is little bit different, the surface and everything. He’s a tough player. He won today against good opponent. Probably he will come with good confidence. I’m going to try to be ready for it.”

Nadal’s upcoming opponent, Dustin Brown, defeated Yen-Hsun Lu in four sets after dropping the first set. He won the match 3-6, 6-3, 7-5, 6-4 to reach the second round for the second time in his career.

This is the second time these two competitors will cross paths on the professional tour, and should be a highly intriguing contest, as it serves the purpose of gauging Nadal’s readiness for Wimbledon. Given that Nadal lost to Brown at last year’s Halle tournament, it will be interesting to see how he handles the rematch and if he is capable of avenging his loss en route to the third round of the tournament.