Tomas Berdych battles past Simone Bolelli into Dubai quarter-finals

Tomas Berdych has sealed a place in the quarter-finals of the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships following a 7-6(7) 5-7 6-0 victory over Simone Bolelli.

It was a tense first set as games went by way of serve, meaning that a tie-break was needed to separate the two competitors.

Berdych edged it 9-7, but he failed to keep the momentum for the second set as Bolelli stayed strong on his serve.

The Italian created three break-point opportunities and he was eventually rewarded by snatching Berdych's serve in the 12th game to draw level.

The third set, however, was a different story as Berdych immediately found his feet by breaking Bolelli's serve at the first time of asking.

The Czech went a further two breaks up and successfully served for the match as his opponent failed to get a single game on the board in the third set.