Steady Berdych downs Gulbis to book Rotterdam final place

DPA/Rotterdam

Czech third seed Tomas Berdych moved nearer to the possible end of his title drought as he beat Ernests Gulbis 6-3, 6-2 yesterday to reach the final of the Rotterdam World Tennis.

Berdych is looking for an ATP trophy after winning his last one in 2012 in Stockholm. Since then he has played and lost finals in Marseille, Dubai and Bangkok. He will next face either dangerous Croatian Marin Cilic, a former top 10 competitor, or Dutchman Igor Sijsling.

Gulbis, the Latvian ranked 24th and a well-known as a streaky player, was unable to follow up after his knockout of top seed Juan del Potro in the quarter-finals. Berdych took control from the start and won the opening set with a break after 29 minutes, losing a mere six points on serve. In the second, the only seed remaining in the field saved the lone break point he faced all afternoon at the Ahoy stadium in the fourth game, then broke later for a 5-2 lead.

A game later, Berdych wrapped up victory, reaching the final without the loss of a set. The winner could not fault his performance. “I played very solid, hitting the ball cleanly and nicely. The most important thing was that I stayed focused throughout the match.

“All that helps to build confidence, every win does that. He had been playing well but my plan was to put him under pressure and that’s what I did, it was my game plan for today. “I did quite well from the beginning, and was able to keep my level up all the way. I played steady, with no ups and downs.” Berdych had won four of six matches against Gulbis. The Czech has reached the final after losing serve only once this week. His best previous Rotterdam showing was the 2012 semi-finals where he lost to Del Potro.

Memphis: Defending champion Kei Nishikori rallied to reach the semi-finals of the $647,000 ATP US Indoor Championships on Friday, but Australian third seed Lleyton Hewitt was eliminated by American Michael Russell.

Nishikori battled back to defeat Russian Alex Bogomolov 3-6, 6-3, 6-2 to book a last-four berth against Russell, who downed Hewitt 6-3, 7-6 (8/6). Russell earned his first victory in four career meetings with the Aussie in one hour, 48 minutes.

Taiwan fourth seed Lu Yen-Hsun also advanced, ousting US qualifier Alex Kuznetsov 6-1, 6-4 in 74 minutes to reach a semi-final against Croatian Ivo Karlovic, a 7-6 (7/4), 6-7 (3/7), 6-3 winner over American Jack Sock. Nishikori, an ATP top seed for the first time, saved all four break points he faced in the final set to win after two hours and 18 minutes.

“It wasn’t easy,” Nishikori said. “My tennis level is not quite 100 percent yet, so I hope I can get better. I have a lot of confidence and my goal is to win the tournament.” Nishikori, ranked 16th, has never before played Russell, who is ranked 98th and has never won an ATP title. Bogomolov, aged 30 and rated 80 spots below Nishikori is also seeking his first ATP title, and he broke Nishikori’s first two service games for a 4-0 lead.

Nishikori broke back in the seventh game but Bogomolov held in the ninth to take the first set. The second set featured two early exchanges of breaks before Nishikori held for a 4-3 edge, then broke the Russian and held again to force a third set. Nishikori, 24, broke for a 2-1 edge and again to seize command before fighting off the Russian’s final break chance in the last game.

“His ranking might not be top 50 but he can play,” Nishikori said. Nishikori, who won two singles matches and shared a doubles triumph to spark Japan over Canada in Davis Cup play earlier this month, is seeking his fourth career ATP crown. His titles came as a teen at Delray Beach in 2008, at Tokyo in 2012 and last year at Memphis when he dispatched Spain’s Feliciano Lopez in the final.