First win for Tomas Berdych as Andy Roddick lets chance slip

With two big servers, opportunities were always likely to be at a premium, and so it proved early on. Roddick looked the more comfortable, though, and in the 10th game he piled on the pressure to create two set points.

However, Berdych won four straight points to level at 5-5. The Czech has been in poor form since Wimbledon, with this victory only his ninth in almost five months, but holding his serve seemed to give him a welcome shot of confidence.

Suddenly his forehand was causing all sorts of problems for Roddick and it was a clean return winner that enabled Berdych to break through and then clinch the first set.

The momentum had shifted and now it was Roddick who was looking like the man under pressure, so it was no surprise when Berdych broke again in the fifth game of the second set.

Roddick, who had been complaining to the umpire about the changing colour of the advertising boards, let his frustration show, earning a code violation for smashing the ball into the crowd and then leaving his racquet in a mangled heap.

The eighth seed by now was a beaten man and a miserable afternoon was complete when he dumped a forehand into the net to hand Berdych another break and victory. Roddick had beaten Berdych four times in a row going into the match, including three times in 2010, and he was annoyed he had let the Czech off the hook in the first set. The 28-year-old said: "More than anything, I don't think he came into the match with a lot of confidence. Being able to get through that raised his confidence level. He played well in the second set."

Of his first win at World Tour Finals, Berdych said: "It feels great. None of these matches are easy. I'm happy after my first match to get back on the court and start to play my tennis again and feel good on court."