Tomas Berdych brushes Lucas Pouille aside to reach Wimbledon semi-final

Updated 06/07/2016 at 19:09 GMT

Tomas Berdych brushed Lucas Pouille aside in straight sets, 7-6(4) 6-3 6-2, to reach the semi-finals of Wimbledon.

Czech Republic's Tomas Berdych celebrates winning the first set against France's Lucas Pouille during their men's singles quarter-final match on the tenth day of the 2016 Wimbledon Championships at The All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon, southwest

Image credit: AFP

Pouille pushed the Czech to a tie-break in the first set, but the second and third were much more straightforward.

Roland-Garros

Norrie eases into French Open third round with rampant win over Pouille

31/05/2023 at 18:41

Carrying more court time than any other quarter-finalist, Berdych started slowly against the 22-year-old Pouille, the 32nd and lowest seed in the draw and a man who had never won a match on grass before this year's eye-opening run at the All England Club.

Seeming out of sorts early on, the Czech broke serve in the third game when Pouille hit a forehand long, but handed the advantage back in the next with a double fault.

Berdych, whose slow start suggested he was feeling the effects of close to 11 and a half hours on court in his four previous matches, then threatened to fritter away a 5-1 lead in the tie-break before a deep approach shot set him up for a clean forehand winner.

That was as good as it got for Pouille, who had lost in the first round in seven of his previous nine grand slam appearances, as Berdych cruised through the second and third sets for the loss of only five games.

"Lucas had a great run. I was trying to find my rhythm in the first set," said Berdych, 30, whose best grand slam showing was at Wimbledon in 2010 when he lost to Rafael Nadal in the final.

Playing in his 52nd consecutive grand slam, the Czech will meet either second seed Andy Murray or 12th seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga on Friday in his sixth major semi-final in all.

"It would be a really amazing feeling (to reach another final). I am going to try to go for it again," Berdych said courtside after a relatively routine 7-6(4) 6-3 6-2 win.

Tennis

‘Federer a bigger icon than Nadal and will leave bigger mark than Djokovic’ – Berdych on GOAT debate

06/10/2022 at 11:49

Tennis

Serena v Sharapova, Federer v Ferrer: Tennis’ most surprising head-to-head records

28/09/2022 at 16:33

Roland-Garros

'You don't see it with Rafa, Novak and Roger' - Wilander on younger tennis stars

26/05/2022 at 10:43

Join 3M+ users on app

Stay up to date with the latest news, results and live sports

Download

Scan me