Tomas Berdych overcame a tough second-round match against Joao Sousa to win in three sets 6-3 3-6 7-5 at the BNP Paribas at the Accorhotel in Paris Bercy to keep his chance alive to qualify for the ATP Finals in London. Milos Raonic hit 17 aces to beat Pablo Carreno Busta, while John Isner saved two set points to overcome Misha Zverev. Richard Gasquet had to save seven set points to beat Steve Johnson in straight sets.
Berdych, who won the Paris Bercy title in 2005, got one break in the sixth game for 4-2 with a down the line backhand. He faced a break point after committing a break point in the ninth game but saved it with a backhand down the line en route to winning the first set 6-3. Sousa also needed only one break at love in the eighth game to clinch the second set forcing the match to the decider.
In the third set Berdych went down 0-30 at 4-4 with a double fault and faced two break points. The Czech player saved the first opportunity with his forehand and the second with his serve.
Both players went on serve until the 12th game, when Berdych got the decisive break on the first of his two break points to win the third set 7-5. Berdych will face either Gilles Simon or Roberto Bautista Agut in the third round.
Berdych is currently ninth with 2880 points in the ATP Race to London and is in contention for the final two spots for the ATP Finals in London with Dominic Thiem (seventh with 3205 points) and Marin Cilic (eighth with 3090 points). The Czech player needs to reach at least the semifinal to keep his chance of qualifying for the end-of-season tournament alive, although he may face a very tough quarter final against Andy Murray.
Berdych won in Shenzhen Open but lost in the first round in Tokyo and Vienna and in the second round in Shanghai. He is out of the top 10 for the first time since 2010.
“If you don’t play your best, you don’t really deserve to be there. Luckily, I am healthy. Who would have said that Iwould be answering questions about London when I was in the hospital in Cincinnati (due to appendicitis) ? This is a nice bonus. I am hopeful that working with Goran Ivanisevic will help improve my game. I like his approach and how he tries to simplify things for me. Hopefully I can get to the point where I can start to use his experience in all the big matches he’s played”, said Berdych.
Milos Raonic beat Moscow Kremlin Cup winner Pablo Carreno Busta 7-6 (7-5) 6-4. A tight first set came down to the tie-break without break points. At 5-5 Raonic got his only break point with with only one mini-break, as Carreno Busta netted his return. Raonic sealed the first set with his 10th ace. Raonic, who was sidelined by an injury problem ahead of his semifinal at the China Open in Beijing, sealed the second set 6-4 with the only break of the match in the fifth game for 3-2, as Carreno Busta hit a low shot into the net from the vaseline.
The Canadian player, who finished runner-up to Roger Federer in Paris Bercy in 2014, fired 17 aces and won 98 percent of his first-serve points He did not face any break points in the whole match. He will take on either Pablo Cuevas or Paolo Lorenzi in the third round.
“The ankle is improving. I still have it wrapped up for safety but it’s not really causing any nuisance”, said Raonic.
Former Paris Bercy semifinalist John Isner overcame Misha Zverev 7-6 (10-8) 6-4 to set up a second round match against 2012 champion David Ferrer. The US player fended off two set points at 6-7 and at 8-9 in the tie-break of the first set before sealing the win with a break with a break in the third game of the second set. Isner hit 14 aces and dropped just six of his first service points.
Ferrer has beaten isner in seven of their head-to-head matches
Zverev earned the firts break point with a backhand return in the 12th game but failed to convert it. Isner got the decisive mini-break, as Zverev sent a forehand volley. The US player got the only break in the third game of the second set and never looked back to close out the match 6-3.
Nicolas Mahut came back from one set down to beat Martin Klizan 4-6 6-4 6-3 setting up a second round match against David Goffin.
Jack Sock, who beat Phillip Kohlschreiber 6-2 7-6 (7-3). Sock went up a double break to win the first set 6-2. In a tighter second set without break points the US player clinched the win on his second match point in the tie-break. Sock, finalist in Stockolm two weeks ago, will face Dominic Thiem in the second round.
Feliciano Lopez converted his third match point to prevail over Pierre Hugues Herbert 7-6 (7-3) 6-3 setting up a second round match against another French player Lukas Pouiille.
Richard Gasquet beat Steve Johnson 6-4 7-6 (13-11) after saving seven set points in the second set. Gasquet got a double break in the third and fifth games to open up a 4-1 lead. Johnson got one of the two breaks back in the eighth game to trail 3-5 and held his serve in the next game. Gasquet served out for the first set at love. The second set went on serve until the tie-break, but Johnson had to save eight break points (four in the third game, one in the fifth game and three more in the ninth game).
The French player had to save a set point at 6-5 before the match came down to the tie-break. The US player earned four set points at 6-2 in the tie-break but Gasquet saved them by winning five consecutive points for 7-6. Johnson created two more opportunities at 8-9 and 10-11 but Gasquet fended them off by winning the final three points to win the tie-break 13-11.
Grigor Dimitrov won the first set 6-3 before Marcos Baghdatis withdrew from the match due to a hip injury. The Cypriot got the first break of the match in the third game to take a 2-1 lead. Dimitrov broke straight back to draw level to 2-2. The Bulgarian broke again at 15 in the sixth game to take a 4-2 lead before holding his next two service games to clinch the first set 6-3. Dimitrov will face either Novak Djokovic or Gilles Muller in the third round.
