Grigor Dimitrov has ended Tomas Berdych's hopes of Italian Open glory by securing a 6-7(3) 6-2 6-2 victory in the third round in Rome.
Berdych drew first blood by grabbing an early break point in the opening set, but after a number of games went by the way of serve, Dimitrov clinched a vital break to level the set on 5-5.
Both competitors were equally strong, which forced the encounter into a tie-break that Berdych edged 7-3.
Dimitrov came out fighting in the second set as he broke his opponent at the first time of asking and immediately held to give himself the advantage.
Berdych struggled to respond as Dimitrov eased to another break point on the clay court, which allowed him to push on and win the set.
The third and deciding set was a tight affair as both players held strong on their service games until Dimitrov made the most of a second break point to take a 3-2 lead.
Dimitrov went from strength to strength as he secured a further two breaks of serve to wrap up the match and reach the final eight.
Danielle Joynson
