Two players at opposite ends of their careers will do battle for a place in the St. Petersburg Open final on Saturday. Veteran Tomas Berdych and young gun Alexander Zverev will contest the first semifinal on Saturday afternoon, with the winner advancing to their first final in Russia. Let’s take a look ahead to semifinal number one.
How they got here
Third seed Berdych is contesting his first even sine Cincinnati, having missed the US Open with illness. After having a bye through the first round, Berdych struggled to get through his second round match. The big-hitting Czech, who lost early in St. Petersburg last year, narrowly edged Andrey Kuznetsov in a third set tiebreak to reach the quarterfinals. In the quarters, he was far stronger, knocking off Paolo Lorenzi in straight sets.
Zverev is through to the semifinals without having dropped a set so far in St. Petersburg. That does not mean he has been without his challenges. The young German battled through two tight sets in the first round against Karen Khachanov, before mounting comebacks in both sets of his second round win over Daniil Medvedev. He threw down his best performance set in the quarters, blowing out former St. Petersburg champion Mikhail Youzhny 6-2, 6-2 to book his place in the final four.
The History
Berdych leads their head-to-head 4-0, with three of those meetings coming in 2016. However, two of those three meetings have gone the distance. Their closest match came in the Davis Cup first round, where Zverev took a two-sets-to-one lead before dropping the last two sets 7-6, 6-4. Berdych won their first match of the 7-5 in the third in Marseille. Their most recent meeting came at Wimbledon, where the Czech won in four sets. Three of their meetings have come on indoor hard courts, including Marseille and the Davis Cup.
Analysis
Zverev has been knocking on the door all year, but has yet to claim that big win over a top opponent. He is looking to reach his third final of the season, on a third different surface, but has yet to break through. He has a real chance to give himself another chance against a rusty Berdych, who is looking to reach his first final of 2016.
When Berdych is on his game, like he was in the quarterfinals on Friday, he can be a tough player for all but the best defenders to handle. Especially on the fast, indoor surface in St. Petersburg, Zverev cannot afford to fall behind in the rallies. If Berdych finds his zone and is dictating points, it will be very hard for the young German to turn the tables.
That being said, if Zverev can force Berdych into rallies, he gives himself a chance. Zverev is a better mover than his big opponent and can do more from defensive positions. It will be harder for Berdych to win the match if he’s not in control of rallies and Zverev is capable of pushing Berdych out of his comfort zone, even if he’s not capable of actually dominating rallies.
Prediction: Zverev in 3 sets
Not only has the young German showed some good form this week, he’s shown a ton of grit and heart. He also just blew out a hard-hitting opponent in the quarterfinals, meaning he’ll be fairly well prepared for the heavy assault of Berdych. He’ll find a way to wear the Czech down.