Tomas Berdych saw his hopes of finally landing the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships title vanish on Wednesday as Robin Haase fought back from a set down to win their second round encounter 3-6, 6-3, 6-4.
Berdych, 31, is a two-time finalist in Dubai having reached successive finals in 2013 and 2014, losing to Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer respectively.
The Czech world No 14 looked to be cruising into the third round after claiming the opening set 6-3 courtesy of a solitary break.
Berdych’s serve, complete with his new lower ball toss, never looked in danger until midway through the second set when he fended off two break points in Game 5. He wasn’t so fortunate the next time round, with Hasse seizing his opportunity to take a 4-2 lead.
Berdych then squandered three break point chances of his own the following game to level the set before Hasse took the match to a decider.
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Once again, one break of serve was all Hasse needed in the final set, and again Berdych passed up three break point chances with Hasse serving for the match.
Elsewhere, fourth seed Gael Monfils overcame a second set blip to defeat Britain’s Dan Evans 6-4, 3-6, 6-1 to take his place in the third round.
In the earlier match on Centre Court, Fernando Verdasco showed that he can still operate at the top level after defeating sixth seed Roberto Bautista Agut.
Verdasco, a former world No 7 but now ranked 35, dispatched his fellow Spaniard 6-4, 3-6, 7-5 in two hours and 27 minutes.
Verdasco, 33, started the match by breaking the Bautista Agut serve, only for the world No 16 to break immediately back. The pair again exchanged breaks in Games 5 and 6 before Verdasco claimed the crucial break in Game 7. Two subsequent service holds then handed Verdasco the opening set.
The second set was a much tighter affair, the only break going Bautista Agut’s way in Game 6.
After visible signs of frustration in the second set, Verdasco regained his composure in the decider, streaking into a 4-1 lead. However, the resilient Bautista Agut forced his way back to parity at 4-4. Service games were then exchanged before Verdasco struck at the optimal time, pouncing upon the only break point opportunity in Game 12 to book his place in the third round.
In the other early match, Germany’s Philipp Kohlschreiber ran out a comfortable winner against Russian Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-4.
Frenchman Lucas Pouille also booked his place in the third round with a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Romanian Marius Copil in less than an hour.
* The National staff
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