Murray overcomes Berdych to make winning start
Andy Murray dropped the first set to Tomas
Berdych before recovering to complete a 3-6 6-3 6-4 win over the world
number six in his ATP World Tour finals opener at London's 02.
Murray is now level at 4-4 with Berdych in career meetings, but it
was perhaps of minimal surprise that the US Open champion, seeded third
here, could not find the formula to break his Czech opponent in the
opening set of the Group A match as seven break points came and went
with Berdych escaping courtesy of some poignant serve-and-volley
tactics.
Berdych was not so profligate as he backed up Murray with a shot that
the Scotsman could not return during a probing rally on his way to
breaking in the sixth game of the match achieved on only his second
break point.
With a 4-2 lead, Berdych would progress to claim the first set 6-3
with the groans almost palpable among the 20,000 or so onlookers.
Murray has yet to go beyond the semi-finals of this tournament.
But there is no Rafael Nadal, who ousted him two years ago in the
last four, and Murray has already accounted for Roger Federer on such a
stage by winning Olympic gold this year at Wimbledon. His growing
maturity was apparent as he refused to panic despite the obvious power
of his opponent.
Murray continued to push and probe in the second set with Berdych
looking particularly vulnerable when he failed to find the first serve.
Berdych showed some real character by clawing himself back from 0-40 on
his own serve trailing 2-1 in the second set, but a couple of wayward
forehands at deuce handed Murray his first break at the 11th attempt. It
proved to be a turning point in the match.
Murray saw out the set and needed to break Berdych only once more as
the man who he ousted in the semi-finals on his way to winning the US
Open wheeled a forehand wide with the scores locked at 1-1 in the third
set.
Murray would encounter little heat from there on in as a professional
display of serving and ball striking from deep saw him over the winning
line 6-4, much to the approval of the large crowd inside the O2 at the
start of the working week.
Murray had produced a workmanlike performance of no little
professionalism in his first match on home soil since winning his first
Grand Slam in New York.
"Both of us I thought served pretty well and weren't losing too many
points on our first serve, so it can hinge on a couple of points here or
there," said Murray.
"That definitely gave me the advantage in the second set. But the third set was tight as well."
Group B of the tournament starts out on Tuesday with Roger Federer
facing Janko Tipsarevic before the new Paris Masters winner David Ferrer
meets Juan Martin del Potro.
Monday's results from the ATP World Tour finals:
Group A
1-Novak Djokovic (Serbia) beat 7-Jo-Wilfried Tsonga (France) 7-6(4) 6-3
3-Andy Murray (Great Britain) beat 5-Tomas Berdych (Czech Republic) 3-6 6-3 6-4
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