Wimbledon 2006
Thirteenth seed Tomas Berdych was tested to the limit by German Tommy Haas before securing a marathon match 2-6, 7-5, 7-6, (9-7), 4-6, 8-6.
Haas was quick out of the blocks and broke his 20-year-old opponent twice in winning the first set 6-2. The German then cruised along in the second set until the turning point at five games all. Haas netted a simple forehand when serving at 40-30 up, and then double-faulted to face his first break point, which he saved with an ace. However, two more forehand errors gave the Czech the crucial break of serve.
Haas smashed his racket in frustration and received a code violation. Berdych served out the set without any problem, and the match was level..
Berdych, ranked a career-high 14, carried on his good form into the third set where he broke early, albeit aided by a double fault from his opponent. Haas managed to force break point when Berdych served for the set. This time it was the Czech’s turn to double fault and he smashed a ball away in anger – for which he also received a code violation.
A tie-break was the only way to decide the third set. Haas played some inspired tennis and was moving exceptionally well. He finished many points off at the net, ending with a 71% winning percentage of net approaches, whereas Berdych was happy to trade big ground strokes from the back of the court. Haas went 6-3 u in the tie-break, but the Czech played brilliantly to save all three set points, and a fourth at 6-7 down. He stood firm and took the set 9-7 on his first set point, leaving Haas bewildered.
Haas composed himself well in the fourth set and broke serve in the fifth game to go 3-2 ahead. He held on to win the set 6-4 and take the match into a fitting decider. Haas agonisingly lost the pair’s previous encounter in five sets after holding three match points, and it was he who could not cope with the pressure of serving to stay in the match. Both players held serve until the final game where the Czech hit three amazing forehand winners to break serve and win the match. It was a remarkably even contest – Berdych hit 67 winners and 43 unforced errors compared to 68 and 39 respectively from his opponent.
Berdych, who took his career five set record to 8-0, reached the last 16 of Roland Garros before losing to Roger Federer. On Monday in the fourth round, he gets his opportunity for revenge against the top seed.
Written by Anshu Taneja