David Ferrer and Tomas Berdych faced off in Group A of the ATP World Tour Finals this evening having lost their opening matches.
The Spaniard had won six of their last seven meetings, but the Czech never looked in trouble as he closed out a 6-4 6-4 victory.
He'll now face Rafael Nadal, who has already booked a place in the last four, in his final match, while Ferrer will be up against Stanislas Wawrinka.
Scroll down to read how tonight's match unfolded at the O2 Arena.
Good evening and welcome to Sports Mole. Tonight we'll be bringing you live coverage of a decisive match in Group A of the ATP World Tour Finals between David Ferrer and Tomas Berdych.
A win for Ferrer tonight would mean that victory over Stanislas Warinka in his final match would see the world number three into the last four. For Berdych the task is greater, as he faces Rafael Nadal in his third group match.
The players are ready to emerge on court. Tonight will effectively mark the end of the season for one of these men.
All the signs point to a Ferrer victory tonight. He's won six of their last seven encounters, and holds a 7-3 record in head to heads.
Ferrer has won the toss and elected to serve. Hmm, that sentence seems to be ingrained on my memory from countless hours spent playing Brian Lara Cricket.
Pre-match warm-ups done, we're ready for action at the O2 Arena.
Ferrer wins a long first point, coming to the net and forcing Berdych to go wide with a backhand down the line. Berdych gives him a three cheap points. Easy hold for the Spaniard.
Berdych gets Ferrer moving but the ball keeps coming back, and the Czech eventually goes into the net with an inside-out cross-court forehand. However, he offers a good response in the next two points with some strong serving. Ferrer hits the net to bring up 40-15 and a booming forehand seals the game for the number six.
Berdych is seeing the ball well but the mistakes are coming. Fortunately for him, Ferrer is also searching for early consistency. The net has been quite busy so far. The game goes to deuce and, fittingly, it's a couple of errors from the Czech that allows Ferrer a hold of serve.
At the change of ends, both men will be looking to fire themselves up. Plenty of clean hitting but the accuracy has been lacking. Berdych is yet to trouble the second serve.
Nice play from Berdych, as he ties Ferrer up with a deep forehand before sending him the wrong way. He quickly gets to 40-0 but goes long with another forehand. However, he sends down a 134mph serve down the middle to draw level. Good hold.
Berdych is the man making the plays but Ferrer is staying with him. It's almost too cliche to describe him as 'dogged' but if the shoe fits. Of course, the errors from Berdych are helping.
Another solid hold from Berdych. If he continues serving like this he'll be difficult to beat. He finishes with a third ace of the evening.
Berdych brings up the first break point of the evening at 30-40, but he goes long with another forehand after working himself into the point nicely. Missed opportunity.
Ferrer finds a big first serve down the middle but a deep return forces him long and it's another break point. Then Berdych goes long. Then Ferrer. Rinse, repeat. Ferrer fends off three break points before holding, finishing with an arched serve down the middle. That could well be a crucial hold, but Berdych is serving well, losing just one point so far.
Berdych comes to the net on the opening point but Ferrer flicks a forehand past him. That's his best point of the match. The Czech gets some furious spin, presumably off the Spaniard's baseline, which sets up an easy forehand into an open court to bring up 15-15. He serves up his first double fault at 40-15 though, and all of a sudden the first serve is no longer there.
Ferrer gets to deuce, but Berdych fires a brilliant forehand cross court to get the advantage. The first serve is still missing, but he gets the job done. We're still on serve.
BREAK! Powerful hitting from Berdych. He got the measure of the court in this game. He brought up two break points, and made the breakthrough by coming into the net on the second to dispatch a brilliant backhand volley down the line. He'll now serve for a one-set lead.
SET! Berdych has switched on the jets at the right time to take the first set in clinical fashion. He's in control of this one.
That was an impressive end to the set from the Czech number one. The last four matches between these two has gone to three sets, though.
Early trouble in the second set for the Spaniard, who had dug himself out of a 15-30 hole but gifted more points to bring up deuce. Berdych had a couple of break points, but repays Ferrer with a couple of errors of his own. He's taken just one of his seven break points this evening.
Berdych has reverted to his form early in the first set. Ferrer takes two points off him and should have brought up his first deuce at 30-40, but he went wide with an easy shot at the net.
Quick hold from the Spaniard, losing just one point. The momentum hasn't exactly shifted, it's more in stasis at the moment. It all depends on the racket of Berdych, which has flashed on a few occasions this evening. He's serving to level once more.
Berdych seems like he's muddling through a bit, but that serve, when it hits, is a potent weapon.
Easy hold to love for Ferrer. He's arrived to the party.
Berdych replies in kind. Big ace to finish - that's number seven.
Another hold to love, meaning that there's now been 12 unanswered points on serve.
13, 14, and finally the run is broken as Berdych goes wide with a cross-court backhand. He thrashes all kinds out of the poor ball to get himself to 40-15 though, and hammers down another ace to confirm another hold. Brutal finish.
BREAK! Berdych is applying the pressure at the crucial moment once again, bringing up three break points with some more power hitting. He wastes the first one, but takes advantage of the second serve to whip a return at Ferrer's feet to seal a break. One more hold and he's there. Now would be a good time for the Spaniard to conjure his first break point. And take it, of course.
GAME, SET AND MATCH! No problems getting over the line for the Czech. Well, a slight miscue at 40-0 but it was of little consequence, as he sends down another ace to win in straight sets.
Ferrer looks a bit dejected as he leaves court, he looks a bit spent. It's Berdych who breaks a six-game losing streak to Ferrer in the process.
TOMAS BERDYCH: "It was not easy, David is a great player. We had a great battle in Paris last week. I'm very happy with the way I played today and I'm looking forward to the next one."
TOMAS BERDYCH:: "The serve was working really well today. That was the key. The tactics that we used worked almost 100%."
A fair assessment from the world number six. He'll face Rafael Nadal in his next match knowing that improvement is needed.
That brings an end to our coverage for this evening. Thanks for joining us. Come back tomorrow afternoon for the match between Roger Federer and Richard Gasquet. Goodbye for now.
Written by
Michael Penkman
Michael Penkman
