Tomas Berdych moved quickly into the second round on day 2, defeating 2011 French Open Boys Champion Bjorn Fratangelo in straight sets 6-3, 6-2, 6-4.
The twenty-two year old American Fratangelo battled gamely in the early exchanges, creating five break points in the fifth game. Berdych used his powerful serve to good effect, and benefited from errors from his young opponent to escape with his serve intact.
Berdych then had a sniff of a break himself in the eighth game, when an error from each Fratangelo wing handed him love-thirty. Fratangelo levelled for thirty-all but Berdych moved to thirty-forty and an untimely double-fault handed the 2010 Wimbledon finalist the first break of the match.
Both men held their opening service games of the second set, but Fratangelo found himself in trouble in the third. Another double-fault brought Berdych break point, and Fratangelo then fired a forehand long to surrender his service.
Berdych quickly consolidated the break, and immediately got to work on Fratangelo’s next service, a big forehand winner and a Fratangelo error again handing him love-thirty. Fratangelo recovered to hold that game, but was then broken for a second time, as Berdych established a commanding second set lead. The Czech sixth seed then imperiously held to love to lead by two sets.
Berdych then opened the third with an immediate break of serve, to thirty, holding to love in consolidation. The early promise for Fratangelo of those five break points in the fifth game now looked a very distant memory, as he had failed to garner any other opportunities since.
Berdych looked in strong rhythm, continuing his efficient progress on serve, and securing a second break to lead five-one. Frantangelo added another game to his side of the scorecard, bravely holding after a long deuce.
Fratangelo then went one step further, finally breaking Berdych as he attempted to serve out the match. Fratangelo then added even more gloss to his scoreline, holding again after a long deuce. Berdych was not to be denied in his next service game though, closing out to love to secure his passage into the second round.
Tomas Berdych will face a former top ten player in Austrian Jurgen Melzer in the second round. Melzer defeated another young American Denis Kudla in straight sets 6-3, 7-5, 6-1.
Jiri Vesely defeated Paolo Lorenzi in straight sets, 6-4, 6-4, 6-4, and twenty-first seed Ivo Karlovic whittled down the argentinian contingent, ousting Federico Delbonis 6-3, 7-5, 7-5 in other action.
