The third section of the Wimbledon draw was always the most wide open, and a surprising quarterfinal contest is exactly what it has produced. Tomas Berdych, who is a former runner-up at the All-England Club but had been slumping of late, will go up against 22-year-old Lucas Pouille on Wednesday.
Tomas Berdych and Lucas Pouille will be going head-to-head for the first time in their careers when they battle for a place in the Wimbledon semifinals on Wednesday afternoon.
Berdych is now a four-time quarterfinalist at the All-England Club (including a final appearance in 2010), but he still could not have headed into this fortnight with much confidence. Among the ninth-ranked Czech’s recent results were a double-bagel loss to David Goffin in Rome–after which he split from coach Dani Vallverdu–and a first-round setback against Marcos Baghdatis on the grass courts of Halle. But Berdych has once again raised his level at Wimbledon, with victories over Ivan Dodig, Benjamin Becker, Alexander Zverev, and Jiri Vesely.
“It feels good,” the No. 10 seed said when asked about being back in the quarters. “Overall I think it’s pretty good. It’s a good run. [A five-setter against Vesely] was another tough test for me; just have to get ready for myself for the next one.”
Pouille, who has emerged from Stan Wawrinka’s part of the bracket, is next up for Berdych. The 22-year-old Frenchman is quite simply breaking onto the scene and even into the upper echelons of the game right here and now. In fact, he has already more than doubled his previous ATP-level win total in 2016 alone, with 19 of his 34 career match victories. The world No. 30, who will be in the top 20 if he upsets Berdych, is through to the last eight with defeats of Marius Copil, Donald Young, Juan Martin Del Potro, and Bernard Tomic (the latter 10-8 in the fifth set).
“Before the tournament, (my goal) was to win one match on grass,” Pouille reflected. “Yeah, now of course I’m very happy, very emotional with the win (against Tomic). I (will) try to recover as good as possible for Wednesday. It will be my first day off [on Tuesday], so it will be good. But, yeah, now (I’m) trying to reach the semifinals.”
Berdych had no day off, because he and Vesely had to come back out and play a fifth set on Tuesday after darkness delayed their all-Czech showdown in round four. The 4-6, 6-3, 7-6(8), 6-7(10), 6-3 thriller lasted a total of three hours and 55 minutes, but Pouille is also coming off a grueling five-setter. He outlasted Tomic 6-4, 4-6, 3-6, 6-4, 10-8 in a match that saw both men struggle physically, albeit Tomic more than Pouille.
Although Pouille has the talent to not only hang in this one but also win it, experience should be an overriding factor in Berdych’s favor. This is his 15th slam quarterfinal match, whereas Pouille owned a mere two main-draw wins in his entire career at majors prior to Wimbledon.
Pick: Berdych in 4
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Pouille has had a dream run at Wimbledon. He’s really had a moment. I think he will come out with no pressure as the surprise quarterfinals must in this match. I expect him to continue to play well.
I think berdy’s experience may be the deciding factor. I also think his tough match against Vesely will have gotten him ready for this match. He had to struggle against Vesely, but didn’t choke in the end,
Berdy for the win in 4 sets.
Berdych in 4.
I can see the upset but I’m taking Berdych in four.
Berdych in 4.
I cant see the upset here, Berdman will lose in the Semis. I see him actually winning in straight sets. This is Federers title for the taking, getting better with each match.
I really like this Pouille kid…saw him briefly out at IW….fun to watch….but still taking Berd in straight.