TOMAS BERDYCH, AGAIN DEALING WITH APPENDICITIS, MIGHT NEED SURGERY

Tomas Berdych has decided not to be an alternate at the ATP World Tour Finals in London, saying he is again experiencing appendicitis.

The 31-year-old was diagnosed with appendicitis in Cincinnati, and was sidelined for about a month.

"After discussion with doctors in Prague Hospital,” he wrote on Twitter, “I was recommended to have a break for two weeks, and then we will see what they’re gonna do with my appendix.”

A spokesperson for the Czech Tennis Federation said a decision about whether to have surgery would also be considered during the next two weeks.

"If I have to undergo surgery, I would like to do it as soon as possible so I can start getting ready for next season," Berdych said in a statement.

Berdych is No. 10 in the rankings.

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(6) Tomas Berdych

Tomas Berdych will arrive at the US Open hoping to reach his Australian Open heights.

Tomas Berdych reached the 2012 US Open semis

His final four showing in January was followed by sub-par fourth round exits at the French Open and Wimbledon.

The Czech briefly held a career-high position of No 4 in the world rankings after the semi-finals in Australia, where he lost to Andy Murray.

He endured an exit at the French Open after defeat to Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, but has previously reached the latter stages at the Qatar Open, Miami Open, Monte Carlo Masters and Madrid Open.

Berdych, who works with Andy Murray's old coaching duo of Dani Vallberdu and Jez Green, also lost in the last four to the British No 1 in Miami and endured a shock loss to Gilles Simon at Wimbledon.

His best US Open showing remains in 2012 when he made the semi-finals before Murray, the eventual winner, beat him. He was present in Montreal and Cincinnati as he gears up to try and better that record from three years ago.

The powerful 29-year-old is a dangerous player if he finds a rhythm and his huge ground strokes could prove a threat in any competition.

Berdych Sets Gasquet Duel

Tomas Berdych was on the brink of falling behind two sets to none against Guillermo Garcia-Lopez, but the Czech survived the Spaniard's test, prevailing 6-7(2), 7-6(7), 6-3, 6-3.

Berdych needed three hours and 22 minutes to book his spot in the Round of 16 for a fourth consecutive year, firing 53 total winners and converting on six of 14 break opportunities to defeat World No. 31 Garcia-Lopez. The Czech draws level in the FedEx ATP Head2Head against the Spaniard at 3-3, having dropped their most recent meeting at the 2014 Monte-Carlo Rolex Masters.

"I felt good all the way through," said Berdych. "The first set wasn't the best. I had a set point and had my chances, but wasn't able to make it. He played quite well and unfortunately didn't happen to win the first set. Then, it was a close second set and I was on top of him and playing well. It was a matter of time to take my chances and that's what I did."

Berdych will renew his 10-year-old rivalry against Richard Gasquet with a quarter-final berth at stake. The series is tied at 6-6, with the Czech winning in straight sets this year in Doha and Madrid.

"Gasquet is a very tough opponent," added Berdych. "He's playing really well lately and having some good results."

The World No. 12 Frenchman downed Bernard Tomic 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 in just under an hour and a half, dominating in points under four shots (60-43). He hit 43 winners to Tomic's 23. Gasquet reached the fourth round at the US Open for the sixth time, having reached the semi-finals in 2013 (l. to Nadal).

Tomas Berdych v Richard Gasquet US Open 2015 preview and match time: Berdych, Gasquet to continue decade-old rivalry

Tomas Berdych will be aiming to make it to his second US Open quarter-finals in a row when he takes on Richard Gasquet on Monday.

Seeded sixth in the competition, Berdych came back from the verge of going two sets down to Guillermo Garcia-Lopez in his fourth round match before coming back to win 6-7(2), 7-6(7), 6-3, 6-3. Needing three hours and 22 minutes to seal his fourth round berth for the fourth successive year, Berdych had a total of 53 winners and he won six of his 14 break-points against Garcia-Lopez.

Speaking of his previous victory that had come after Berdych defeated Bjorn Fratangelo and Jurgen Melzer in straight sets in the first two rounds, the Czech world number six said: "I felt good all the way through. The first set wasn't the best. I had a set point and had my chances, but wasn't able to make it. He played quite well and unfortunately didn't happen to win the first set. Then, it was a close second set and I was on top of him and playing well. It was a matter of time to take my chances and that's what I did."

Gasquet had no such worries in his win over Bernard Tomic, his third round opponent. He defeated the Australian in straight sets, winning 6-4, 6-3, 6-1 after the first two rounds hadn't gone exactly in the manner he wanted. 

The French 12th seed needed five sets against Thanasi Kokkinakis in his opening round match, before being stretched to four by Robin Haase in his second round encounter to make it to the third.

Interestingly, Berdych and Gasquet go a long way. They have faced each other 12 times over the last 10 years and the fact that both players have won six matches each shows how closely-matched they have been all this while.

By 2014, in fact, Gasquet had taken a 6-3 lead over Berdych but the Czech came back to win their last three encounters in a row to make it 6-6. On hard court surfaces, nothing separates them again, with both players having won four times apiece. They have already played each other twice this year - at Doha and at the Madrid Masters - and both times, Berdych recorded a straight-set win against Gasquet.

Tomas Berdych and Richard Gasquet are scheduled on court from 5.30 am local/10.30 pm BST.