Tomas Berdych stormed into the quarterfinals of the 2017 Mercedes Cup with a 7-6(4), 6-2 win over Bernard Tomic on Thursday. It was a fantastic showing by the Czech star who needed one hour and 16 minutes to record the straight sets victory. With the win, Berdych improved his record against Tomic to a perfect 5-0 with three of those victories coming on grass.
Things are bound to get tougher, though, for Berdych as standing in his way in the next round is the talented Feliciano Lopez. They are even in their head-to-head matchup at 6-6. Berdych, however, has won each of his last two meetings with Lopez but they haven’t faced off in three years. Berdych’s serve will be key this coming Friday if he is to finally pull ahead against Lopez. He won 84 percent of his first serve points against Tomic and also recorded 14 aces.
Look out, Feliciano Lopez is making another deep run here in Stuttgart. The two-time semifinalist reached the last eight of the 2017 Mercedes Cup with a thrilling 6-3, 3-6, 6-2 victory over Jeremy Chardy on Thursday. Lopez was in dominant form, losing his serve just once to reach the quarterfinals of an ATP Tour event for just the second time this season.
Waiting in the next round for Lopez is the talented Tomas Berdych. This will be the second meeting between Berdych and Lopez on grass. Lopez stunned Berdych in the quarterfinals at Queen’s three years ago, winning in straight sets, 6-4, 7-6 (7). For the Spaniard to duplicate that feat, he will need to get his first serve going quickly. Lopez ripped to shreds Chardy’s vaunted return, winning 83 percent of his first serve points in the second round.
