Berdych keeps ATP World Tour Finals semi bid alive with victory over Ferrer

Czech star Tomas Berdych has cruised to a 6-4, 6-4 win over Spaniard David Ferrer in the ATP World Tour Finals on Wednesday, which has strengthened his contention for a place in the semi-finals of the season-ending tournament.

Although Berdych had lost his opening Group A match against Swiss ace Stanislas Wawrinka on Monday, he, however, gave himself a shot at making the last four of the event by beating world number three Ferrer in one hour and 23 minutes.

According to Sport24, the Czech fifth seed must now defeat world number one Rafael Nadal, who has already booked his spot in the semi-finals, in his final group match on Friday, to have a chance of qualifying.

Although Ferrer had held a 7-3 head-to-head advantage over Berdych, with a victory in their last meeting in the quarter-finals of the Paris Masters, his tenacity and clever shot selection were however, no match against the towering Berdych's huge serve and sporadically fierce ground-strokes.

The report mentioned that Ferrer looks certain to be eliminated after failing to win a set in either of his first two matches.