Top seed Tomas Berdych will face Carlos Berlocq in the Portugal Open final on Sunday, after a convincing victory over Victor Hanescu 6-2, 6-2 in the semifinals. This will be Berdych's third clay-court title, and the first since claiming the trophy in the 2009 BMW Open. It will also be his 22nd tour-level final overall.
Where to Watch Live
Tomas Berdych vs Carlos Berlocq centre court action begins at 10.45 am local time [8 pm IST]. Global viewers can stream the live action HERE and HERE.
"It will be great," Berdych said. "It's always a pleasure to get to the final stages of the week in tournaments. I'm really looking forward to it."
The World no. 6 had an easy day out against Hanescu in the semis, after rather demanding previous rounds. He won with five aces and four break points on serve. The top Czech improved to 24-5 this season.
"I finally found the way I want to play," Berdych said. "This is how I want to prepare on the clay.
"I need days like these to work through, it's important to fight out of tough situations. That's why I'm here. I want to improve my clay game this week and I'm managing to put my game together."
Berdych leads the career head-to-heads against his Sunday's finalist 3-0, and will be looking forward to extend his success story.
"The first step is here, I'm in the final," Berdych added. "Now it would be really great to win this title."
Though Berlocq's plans will also sound similar, he had a tough task in the semis but came out triumphant against Daniel Gimeno-Traver, handing him a 6-7 (6), 2-6 defeat in 93 minutes.
"I am happy to win this semi-final," Berlocq stressed. "It was without a doubt a mental match. I fought hard with my beliefs. I felt my shots were tense in the tie-break and it's not easy to play with this wind, but the important thing is I played better than him and got the victory."
This will be the 31-year-old Argentine's third ATP World Tour final, having won only one in July last year at the Swedish Open.
(Ed: VP)
