Berdych crushed Dmitry Tursunov to win the first semi-final, losing just three games as he crushed his opponent 6-2 6-1.Tursunov has produced some superb tennis throughout the week as he played his way out of qualifying and into the semi-finals, but simply had no answer to the world number six.
The match took just 54 minutes, with Berdych losing only nine points on his own serve and punishing Tursonov with some outstanding returns. Third seed Tsonga had an equally one-sided victory over sixth seed Gilles Simon, winning 6-2 6-2.
Tsonga attacked Simon’s serve ruthlessly to create chances, and converted four of his 10 break points as he cruised to the win.
His fellow Frenchman Simon earned several chances to get into the match, forcing three break points in the opening set.
But Tsonga saved them all as he rolled towards the final, where he will hope to repeat his 2009 victory in the tournament.
Japan’s Kei Nishikori will meet Spain’s Feliciano Lopez in the final of the US National Indoor Tennis Championships after besting Australian Marinko Matosevic in the semi-finals in Memphis.
Nishikori won the first set 6-4 in 37 minutes against Matosevic before the Australian was forced to retire with a bone bruise on his right foot, sending the Japanese into his fifth ATP final.
“He was playing well from the beginning. Its lucky for me to play just one set and feel fresh for tomorrow, fifth-seed Nishikori said. “But I’ve played really well this week in every match and it’s been good.”
Lopez found the going much tougher against Denis Istomin, winning 6-2 3-6 6-3 to make his eighth tour final. Lopez won the pair’s only previous meeting in straight sets at the 2011 Barcelona Open. “He is a great player, he’s in very good shape,” Lopez said of Nishikori. “I think it’s going to be a tough match, he’s very fast-moving all around the court and I have be aggressive and play my best tennis if I want to win.”
