Novak Djokovic - Tomas Berdych

ATP. Dubai. (Hard).

Novak Djokovic - Tomas Berdych

Начало игры: 2011-02-25 13:15
Прогноз: Over (21.5) Коэффициент: 1.90

Novak Djokovic will renew his recent rivalry with Tomas Berdych on Friday in Dubai. A place in the title match is at stake.

Novak Djokovic and Tomas Berdych will be doing battle for the fifth time in the last eight months when they meet in the semifinals of the Dubai Duty Free Championships on Friday. Berdych won the first encounter in that span by dominating 6-3, 7-6(9), 6-3 in the Wimbledon semis. Djokovic, though, has won three in a row. The world No. 3 earned victories in Davis Cup and at the World Tour Finals before most recently prevailing 6-1, 7-6(5), 6-1 in the Australian Open quarters. Overall, Djokovic leads the head-to-head series 5-1. He also picked up straight-set wins three years ago in Bangkok and at the 2009 Sony Ericsson Open. If Berdych wants to turn the tide back in his favor, he will have to beat one of the hottest players in the sport. Djokovic has not lost a match in 2011. The second-seeded Serb won the Australian Open with successive wins over Berdych, Roger Federer, and Andy Murray and he is keeping up the hot streak this week. So far Djokovic has taken out Michael Llodra, Feliciano Lopez, and Florian Mayer--losing a single set to Lopez in the process. Berdych has righted the ship following a second-half slump in 2010. The seventh-ranked Czech is 13-3 for the season, which includes a semifinal performance at the Chennai Open in addition to his quarterfinal in Melbourne. Berdych, seeded third in Dubai, reached the semis with wins over Jeremy Chardy, Nikolay Davydenko, and Philipp Petzschner. While Djokovic is the clear favorite, he has not been entirely dominant through three matches and Berdych has not yet dropped a set. Expect a competitive affair, with Djokovic advancing in three sets.