Tomas Berdych is through to the second round of Wimbledon after a hard-fought first round win over Jeremy Chardy. The Czech’s quest for a first ever Grand Slam continues with a round of 64 encounter against Nicolas Mahut. Mahut has yet to beat Berdych in his career, but will the sixth time be the charm for the 33-year old Frenchman?
Read on for our complete preview of this matchup. Meanwhile, find more fascinating second round Wimbledon previews of Nadal vs. Brown and Federer vs. Querrey.
Tomas Berdych had his hands full in his first round matchup with Jeremy Chardy. The World No. 6 and 2010 Wimbledon finalist was taken to three consecutive tie breakers by the Frenchman, but the Czech won two of them as he prevailed for a 6-2, 6-7(8), 7-6(3), 7-6(5) win.
[sc:Other240banner ]Berdych’s overall game looked very strong against Chardy. His serve, in particular, was solid as he hit 16 aces, put 65 percent of first serves in play and won an incredible 88 percent of first serve points. He was also stroking his patented forehand well, using it to deliver 19 of his 55 winners. He also made just 16 unforced errors.
Despite his inconsistency in putting his first serve in play, Berdych still has one of the better service games on tour this season. The Czech is seventh in both first and second serve points won at 78 and 56 percent, respectively.
Berdych’s service game has been particularly dominant in past matchups against Nicolas Mahut. Berdych converted at least 83 percent of his first serve points in their last three meetings, and even reached 88 percent in two of those matches. Unsurprisingly, he won all of those matches in straight sets, and is 5-0 lifetime against Mahut.
Nicolas Mahut marched on to the second round of Wimbledon with a 7-6(4), 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 win over World No. 121 Filip Krajinovic in his opening match. In what was a very evenly-matched affair, the World No. 65 managed to edge out his Serbian opponent in two hours and 47 minutes.
Mahut has never defeated his next opponent, Berdych, but he remains undefeated on grass this season at 6-0. He defended his ‘s-Hertogenbosch tournament in the Netherlands as a qualifier in his buildup to Wimbledon.
Nevertheless, the matchup figures to be an uphill battle for Mahut, who has failed to win at least 20 percent of return points against Berdych’s serve twice in their last three meetings. Moreover, the Frenchman has broken Berdych’s serve just three times in those three matched, while his own serve has been broken 11 times.
Mahut’s history at Wimbledon also doesn’t bode well for his chances to get past the big Czech. The 33-year-old has not reached the third round of Wimbledon for the last eight years, with three of those eight flameouts coming in the second round.
Writer’s Prediction
Berdych (-400) once again gets the better of Mahut as the Czech cruises in straight-sets.
