Berdych Defeats Dimitrov in Madrid Masters

Grigor Dimitrov reaches for a ball against Tomas Berdych in the 3rd round of the Madrid Masters. Photo by EPA/BGNES

Tomas Berdych beat Bulgaria's Grigor Dimitrov by 2-1 sets (3:6, 6:3, 6:2) in the third round of the Madrid Masters.

The match started ideally for Dimitrov, who grabbed the first set, showing some of his best shots, while his opponent was looking shaky.

The second set was evenly contested until the middle. From there on however, the 196cm tall Czech proved his experience and why he is ranked 6th in the world. After the break for 4:2, Berdych cruised on to win the set.

Dimitrov's game dropped even more in the third set, making a number of unforced errors and allowing his opponent to take a 4:0 lead. The match finished in 1 hour and 49 minutes and Berdych qualified for the quarterfinals.

The good news for the Bulgarian is that he was able to defend his points from last year's tournament, which means he would most likely be able to keep his 14th position in the ATP ranking. His next tournament will be the Masters in Rome, starting next week.

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