TENNIS ATP FINALS – Tomas Berdych defeated Marin Cilic 6-3, 6-1 in 1 hour and 14 minutes. The Czech has improved his chances of qualifying for the semifinals with this result. The Croatian is out of the competition. From London, Paul Sassoon
Tomas Berdych won a match that was far from entertaining. It was a flat match with very few exciting exchanges and even less winners. The Czech won basically because Cilic made too many unforced errors (30 in two sets for just 11 winners, the Czech made 16 winners and 17 unforced errors). The stands of the O2 Arena were not packed (unusually) and the fans present were fighting to keep their eyes open. Even fans armed with Croatian flags were very subdued and the monotonous nature of this encounter made the situation worse. The biggest cheer came when the cameras showed an enthusiastic Japanese fan that started to dance during the court change.
In the press conference Berdych confirmed that the match was not at a level that fits such a competition, “I felt much better on the court. But still it was not one of my best. That’s fair to say.”
The first set was settled by breaks in the first and last games. Cilic had the chances to get back into the match but the Czech managed to find two good serves on the two break points for the croat.
The second set was even more one-sided. Cilic won his first service game, but he then lost 5 games in a row. In the second set Cilic had four chances to break, but he failed to convert any of the chances.
It was another quick and uneven match, the seventh in this year’s ATP Finals, but this does not seem to surprise the Czech number one, “I’m not surprised at all. I mean, the tennis could go really either way. It’s not about that something is wrong or not. That’s how it is. That’s the fact. I don’t think that we have to look for it more deeply. Just take it as a fact, and that’s it”. I am not sure that the fans who pay £60 pounds a session would agree. This is an issue for this tournament that is used to packed stands and an electric atmosphere and is counting on the box-office success to get the contract renewed this spring for the right to host the ATP Finals. Berdych said he is in favour of keeping the tournament in the British capital, “I experienced last five years, it’s incredible event with great atmosphere, with the spectators. They come up every day, fill up the stadium, make a great atmosphere. That’s why we play tennis. That’s the best feeling when you step on court and have a crowd like that. Of course, the hospitality and so on, so on, it’s on the highest level.”
This win keeps Berdych in contention for a place into the semifinal, but it will all depend on his next match against Novak Djokovic, “I’m going to try to, you know, maybe three, four games. That would be better from the last time” the Czech joked. “You know, it’s always a huge challenge to play No. 1 player in the world. The way he’s playing, where are we playing, it’s pretty much all set up for him and for his game. That’s how it is.”
In the press room Cilic was very disappointed with his performance in these two matches, “it’s, of course, a little bit disappointing to play like this. I was not expecting it. But sort of I feel a little bit tired, and body feels a little bit tired on the court. It seems that the things that I’m doing that are all basically going in a wrong direction. Especially with these guys at this kind of level, even small mistakes, or if you’re not at your best performances, the outcome is not going to be going in your favour.”
Depending on tonight’s result, the Croatian can still qualify for the semifinal if he beats Wawrinka on Friday, “I will have small chances to go through the groups. It’s going to be I think more pressure on Stan, that he has to win. I mean, we’ll see, I don’t know. But, anyway, I’m going to try to enjoy. I deserve to be here as a matter of having a great season. Of course, try to play well and to perform well on Friday.”
Jokingly Ubaldo Scanagatta asked him if he was tempted to swap places with his coach Goran Ivanisevic, “you see Goran, when he’s playing his exhibition matches, okay, it’s still fun and he’s not going full. But, no, his serve is still, I would say, one of the best motion that the game has seen, I would say, for sure. So it would be interesting to bring him couple points in”
