David Ferrer and Tomas Berdych engage in what should be an engaging French Open fourth-round matchup between two pros who have yet to win a title this year. Read on for a breakdown of this game. You can also check out our preview of Venus Williams vs. Timea Bacsinszky.
Ferrer will add some Spanish flavor in the fourth round of the French Open after he beat compatriot
Feliciano Lopez in a 6-4, 7-6 (8-6), 6-1 win in the third round. With the victory, Ferrer has extended his streak of fourth-round appearances in the event to six, a stretch that includes a runner-up finish to Rafael Nadal in 2013.
Ferrer had 63 percent of his first serves in, winning 44 points on 57 of his successful first serves. Ferrer, however, is known more for his strong return game and he’ll be looking to punish Berdych in that department in their encounter. Ferrer owns the fifth-best return rating in the ATP thus far this season with 156.3.
Ferrer has won three matches in the 2016 French Open, which says a lot about his condition, considering that this is his first event this season in which he’s won that many. In his career, Ferrer Is 313-122 on ATP clay court matches. Moreover, he has the upper hand in the lifetime ATP head-to-head matchup with Berdych, 8-6.
Betting on Tomas Berdych
After ending the life of Pablo Cuevas in the third round via a 4-6, 6-3, 6-2, 7-5 win, Berdych is ready to take on a bigger challenge in Ferrer.
Berdych dropped the opening set against Cuevas, but had it going the rest of the way. He won points on 82% of his first serves and planted 49 winners—the most he’s had thus far in the tournament. Berdych did have 34 unforced errors, however, and he’ll have to cut down on his miscues if he intends to beat the surging Ferrer.
It was mentioned earlier that Ferrer leads the head-to-head matchup with Berdych, but it should also be noted that the Czech is 3-2 opposite Ferrer in clay matches. In their lone meeting thus far this year, Berdych defeated Ferrer in the round of 16 in the Madrid Masters via a 7-6(8), 7-5 victory.
Berdych has a career record of 144-80 in ATP clay court matches.
