Chennai: Top seed and World No.6 Tomas Berdych from Czech Republic gave a merciless 6-0, 6-1 hiding to unheralded Portugese Frederico Gil in a mere 45 minutes on way to the second round of the Aircel ATP Chennai Open tennis tournament, here on Tuesday.
Such was the overwhelming difference between the two 25-year olds that the contest appeared more like a pre-tournament hit-about than a competition as Berdych, the 2010 Wimbledon finalist, hardly broke sweat.
The 101st-ranked Gil won just five points in the first set and eight in the second in which he won his only game of the match, but Berdych was not one to gloat over his easy win.
"I was looking forward to my first match of the season. I was aggressive and he couldn't keep up. It was one of those matches that do not happen all the time."
"I heard that he was sick a few days ago and I guess it just happens, but it is certainly nice to start with a win and my focus is on my next match," said Berdych.
Berdych's one-sided victory was in keeping with the trend of the day that saw qualifier Alexandre Kudryavtsev from Russia ousting Indian wild card Yuki Bhambri 6-2, 6-1, while on the outside courts fourth-seeded Frenchman Richard Gasquet and No.7 Belgian Xavier Malisse also won their respective first round matches in straight sets.
The 18-year-old Bhambri, ranked 505, looked out of depth against Kudryavtsev, who served and returned far better than his opponent.
So much so that Bhambri won just two service games in the 50-minute match and was broken thrice in each set while the 25-year old Russian, ranked 159, dropped serve only once in the first set.
After the match, Bhambri was unsparing in taking a critical view of his approach and game plan, saying he tried to do too much from the start.
"I didn't play according to the situation. I just went out there and started playing shots. I should have waited and seen how things progressed rather than having a single-minded approach. But I learnt my lessons," said Bhambri.
The results:
Singles (1st round): Q-Alexandre Kudryavtsev (RUS) bt WC-Yuki Bhambri (IND) 6-2, 6-1; 4-Richard Gasquet (FRA) bt Q-Edouard Roger-Vasselin (FRA) 6-1, 6-3; 7-Xavier Malisse (BEL) bt Marsel Ilhan (TUR) 6-3, 6-1; 1-Tomas Berdych (CZE) bt Frederico Gil (POR) 6-0, 6-1;
Doubles (1st round): Simone Bolelli (ITA) / Janko Tipsarevic (SRB) bt WC-Divij Sharan / Vishnu Vardhan (IND) 6-2, 6-2; Marin Cilic / Ivan Dodig (CRO) bt Leos Friedl (CZE) / Jordan Kerr (AUS) 6-0, 7-5.
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