US OPEN – Richard Gasquet (12) wore down the resistance of the much larger Tomas Berdych (6) to make his 2nd US Open quarterfinals appearance in his career having done so back in 2013 when he made the semifinals. The Frenchman beat the Czech player 2-6 6-3 6-4 6-1 in 2 hours 24 minutes. Gasquet would face Roger Federer (2) in the next round for a place in the semifinals.
With their head to head at 6-6, one figured that this would be an even contest and another tough battle on Armstong court as were the two previous singles matches. However, Berdych won their last three meetings and in the opening set, it was very evident why. For a moment, it looked as though Gasquet was going to seize the moment and be the first to break. In the 5th game of the match, the Frenchman had triple break points, 0-40 but he failed to convert any of them and Berdych held for 3-2. Sensing the hesitation from his opponent, Berdych was the one to take the momentum and broke Gasquet in successive service games to take the set 6-2 in just 33 minutes. “I start bad. I was not feeling confident on the court. He was playing great,” Gasquet said after the match.
In the 2nd set, it appeared as though Berdych relaxed and perhaps underestimate the fight from Gasquet who began improving on his service games. Gasquet was then able to create more break opportunities on the return and this time around, he converted in the 5th and 8th games to level the match at a set apiece 2-6 6-3. “I think the second set was really important for my confidence. I start to return better, serve much better than the start of the match,” said Gasquet. In the 3rd set, both players recognized the urgency of holding serve as it was getting late into the night and securing that 2-1 sets lead was vital to win the match. Of the 10 games played, there was only one single break point and that occurred as Berdych served to stay in the set. Gasquet converted to take it 6-4 and the lead. In the 4th set, Gasquet began to swing freely as Berdych’s resistance was wearing thin. He could not take any of the break points that he had and when he was facing break points on his own serve, he faltered as Gasquet to the final 5 games of the match for a 2-6 6-3 6-4 6-1 victory. This win gave Gasquet a 7-6 lead in their head to head and perhaps some extra confidence going into the next round, “It was a great match for me and a big victory.” Gasquet is 2-14 v Federer with those rare victories coming on clay back in 2005 and 2011.
