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H2H Tomas Berdych vs Jurgen Melzer

Order of Play – Friday, January 18, 2013

Hisense Arena – Matches Start At: 11:00 am

1. Women's Singles - 3rd Round

Heather Watson (GBR) vs Agnieszka Radwanska (POL) [4]

2. Women's Singles - 3rd Round

Ana Ivanovic (SRB) [13] vs Jelena Jankovic (SRB) [22]

3. Men's Singles - 3rd Round

Kevin Anderson (RSA) vs Fernando Verdasco (ESP) [22]

Night session 7:00 PM Start Time

1. Men's Singles - 3rd Round

Jurgen Melzer (AUT) [26] vs Tomas Berdych (CZE) [5]

2. Mixed Doubles - 1st Round

Sania Mirza (IND) [3] / Bob Bryan (USA) [3] vs Samantha Stosur (AUS) / Luke Saville (AUS)

Tomas Berdych is making his 10th straight appearance at Melbourne Park

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Tomas Berdych progressed to the fourth round of the Australian Open courtesy of a straight-sets victory over Jurgen Melzer

Berdych blasts past Melzer

 

Friday, 18 January, 2013

By Ethan James (official website Australian Open)

It’s virtually impossible to force a 196cm man – that’s six foot five inches in the old scale – to stretch on a tennis court.

Austrian Jurgen Melzer discovered that the hard way as he was dismantled by fifth seed Tomas Berdych in straight sets on Hisense Arena on Friday night.

Playing in his 10th consecutive Australian Open, Berdych blasted his way into the fourth round with a 6-3 6-2 6-2 victory.

At times, Melzer, the world No. 29 appeared to have his opponent on the run, but the wingspan of Berdych is such that he not only reached the ball, he regularly returned it with added interest.

It was a performance that could best be described in one word – crushing.

“I felt I was moving pretty well ... I like the courts, it brings me good memories. My game was really solid all the way through the match,” Berdych said afterwards.

Always looking to push forward in the court, he struck for an early break in the opening set and, with a 4-1 buffer, even had time to share a light-hearted conversation with the chair umpire at the change of ends.

Down 5-3, Melzer managed to defend two set points, but the left hander’s plan to target the Berdych backhand with his cross-court forehand came to naught as the Czech flattened out a double-handed winner down the line to take the set.

The winner-count continued to soar for Berdych, who sent a smash into the stands for a double break in the second set.

Melzer’s body language began to deteriorate, with his hand gestures essentially asking the question ‘what else I supposed to do?’.

And, after netting a backhand and conceding a break in the first game of the third, his emotions finally boiled over as he threw his racquet to the ground.

By contrast, Berdych’s focus was undisrupted, and after earning a double break, served out the match.

In a battle of the giants, the big Czech will next meet fellow big hitter Kevin Anderson, who is seven centimetres taller. The South African beat Fernando Verdasco in five sets on Friday afternoon.

“I heard already someone say that it's like me playing against myself,” Berdych said.

“Let's see how I can deal with that. There aren’t many matches where you face an opponent that plays such a similar game. I saw him play today and he was really impressive.

“I know him quite well, we've played a couple of times and they were all pretty close.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Tomas Berdych trounced helpless 26th-seeded Austrian left-hander Jurgen Melzer 6-3, 6-2, 6-2. Berdych lost just nine of his first-serve points and struck 12 aces en route to the round of 16.

 

 

 

 

 

 

ATP NEWS | 18 Jan 2013

Berdych, the 2010 Wimbledon runner-up, beat No. 26 seed Jurgen Melzer of Austria for the third time in five meetings on hard courts. The Czech won 6-3, 6-2, 6-2 in one hour and 48 minutes.

"I felt I was moving pretty well,” said Berdych. “I like the courts, it brings me good memories. My game was really solid all the way through the match.

"[In the] next round Anderson will be a different opponent, so I will have to bring something different. I know him quite well, we've played a couple of times and they were all pretty close.

"I heard already someone say that 'it's like me playing against myself'. Let's see how I can deal with that. [There is] not many matches where you face an opponent that plays such a similar game. I saw him play today and he was really impressive."

 

 

 

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ATP Homepage of Friday, January 18, 2013

 

 

 

 

Tomas Berdych celebrates winning his third round match against Jurgen Melzer of Austria during day five of the 2013 Australian Open at Melbourne Park on January 18, 2013 in Melbourne, Australia.

 

 

 

 

 

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Tomas Berdych had no trouble winning his third-round match against Jürgen Melzer