Berdych is currently the World No. 6.(credit:
Wikimedia)
Tomas Berdych faces Richard Gasquet in the third round of the Australian OpenTomas Berdych came back from a set down to beat Philipp Kohlschreiber in round two (4-6, 6-2, 6-3, 6-4), and looks set for another challenging match on Friday. A difficult draw has handed the Czech a third round tie against Richard Gasquet, a former top ten player. The World No. 6 is only a win away from matching his previous best outings in Melbourne, which occurred in 2007, 2008 and 2009, when he reached the last sixteen.
Berdych enters this match widely regarded as the favourite, though Gasquet leads their head-to-head 2-1. Gasquet achieved both of his victories over Berdych on hard courts, though the most recent of these wins was back in 2007. The pairing met most recently at Monte Carlo last year. Berdych demolished the Frenchman 6-2, 6-0, though this match was played on a clay court. This recent result bodes well for Berdych, though Friday’s match could realistically go either way.
Gasquet, a Wimbledon semi-finalist in 2007, is yet to lose a set this week, though he’s not faced anyone of Berdych’s calibre. Any contest between these two players should be worth keeping an eye on, and this match looks like it could be one of the highlights of the third round.
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