Andy Roddick won his second Sony Ericsson Open title on Sunday in Miami with a 7–5, 6–4 victory over Tomas Berdych from the Czech Republic.
The match was played under ideal conditions at Crandon Park, sunny with a temperature in the upper 70s.
Roddick is off to a great start this year with more wins on tour than any other player. His consistency in serving has been remarkable. He never faced a break point against Berdych and got 62 percent of his first serves in. By contrast, Berdych struggled with his first serve percentage at 49 percent.
Roddick’s big win in the tournament came over Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. The come-from-behind three-set win demonstrated, once again, Roddick’s determination and variety of game.
When asked what was most impressive about his tournament win, Roddick responded in an on-court interview with CBS, “I won in different ways. I was really smart with chipping [backhand] and mixing paces.”
Roddick’s backhand slice stayed very low to the ground and gave his taller opponent some difficulty. On match point, Roddick chipped crosscourt to Berdych’s backhand and approached the net. Berdych dumped the passing shot to hand Roddick the victory on his third match point.
Berdych, who has a phenomenal first serve, missed out on a chance to win the biggest title of his career. The 6-foot-5-inch Czech star recorded tough three-set wins over Roger Federer and Fernando Verdasco before blowing by improving Swede Robin Soderling 6–2, 6–2 in the semifinal.
The first set was even until Roddick broke Berdych’s serve at 5–5. Berdych’s first serve percentage started plummeting late in the first set and he was broken in his opening service game of the second set.
Berdych committed too many errors on his forehand ultimately. His backhand was by far the more reliable stroke.
In the women’s final on Saturday, Belgium’s Kim Clijsters demolished Venus Williams 6–1, 6–2 in just 58 minutes.
The match was played under ideal conditions at Crandon Park, sunny with a temperature in the upper 70s.
Roddick is off to a great start this year with more wins on tour than any other player. His consistency in serving has been remarkable. He never faced a break point against Berdych and got 62 percent of his first serves in. By contrast, Berdych struggled with his first serve percentage at 49 percent.
Roddick’s big win in the tournament came over Rafael Nadal in the semifinals. The come-from-behind three-set win demonstrated, once again, Roddick’s determination and variety of game.
When asked what was most impressive about his tournament win, Roddick responded in an on-court interview with CBS, “I won in different ways. I was really smart with chipping [backhand] and mixing paces.”
Roddick’s backhand slice stayed very low to the ground and gave his taller opponent some difficulty. On match point, Roddick chipped crosscourt to Berdych’s backhand and approached the net. Berdych dumped the passing shot to hand Roddick the victory on his third match point.
Berdych, who has a phenomenal first serve, missed out on a chance to win the biggest title of his career. The 6-foot-5-inch Czech star recorded tough three-set wins over Roger Federer and Fernando Verdasco before blowing by improving Swede Robin Soderling 6–2, 6–2 in the semifinal.
The first set was even until Roddick broke Berdych’s serve at 5–5. Berdych’s first serve percentage started plummeting late in the first set and he was broken in his opening service game of the second set.
Berdych committed too many errors on his forehand ultimately. His backhand was by far the more reliable stroke.
In the women’s final on Saturday, Belgium’s Kim Clijsters demolished Venus Williams 6–1, 6–2 in just 58 minutes.
