Berdych Overcomes Illness; Ferrer Makes Fast Turnaround

© Getty ImagesDavid Ferrer has hit his best form during the Asian swing.

Seventh seed Tomas Berdych laid it all on the line Tuesday in his bid to add valuable points to his Barclays ATP World Tour Finals qualification campaign, overcoming an upset stomach to defeat Tommy Robredo 6-0, 6-4 in the second round of the Shanghai Rolex Masters.

The Czech hid his condition well in the early stages as he battered Robredo into submission and won the first seven games. However, he clearly struggled in the second set as he was twice forced to rally from a break down before staggering over the finishing line in 84 minutes.

“I’ve been struggling with some stomach problems for two days; I’ve eaten almost nothing in the past two days and was feeling pretty weak,” explained Berdych. “I tried to play more aggressively and not such long rallies. Somehow it worked and I’m extremely happy for today.”

The 25-year-old Berdych a finalist at the ATP World Tour Masters 1000 event in Miami (l. to Roddick) and Wimbledon (l. to Nadal) earlier in the season, is bidding to qualify for the year-end championships in London for the first time. He is currently sixth in the year-to-date ATP Rankings, with the Top 8 to qualify.

Barely 24 hours after finishing runner-up to Novak Djokovic in Beijing, No. 11 seed David Ferrer made a fast turnaround to defeat Michael Llodra 7-6(2), 6-1 in a first-round clash in Shanghai.

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Ferrer dropped just eight points on serve and broke serve twice from three opportunities as he finished strongly to dispatch the No. 28-ranked Llodra in 69 minutes. Prior to reaching the final at the China Open, the Valencia resident had also posted a semi-final showing in Kuala Lumpur (l. to Golubev).

The 28-year-old Ferrer has come into his best form at just the right time as he also looks to clinch one of the five remaining berths at the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals. This year’s Acapulco champion is currently No. 8 in the year-to-date ATP Rankings and is hoping to feature in the eight-man field at the season finale for the second time, after finishing runner-up to Roger Federer in 2007.