Berdych punishes Monfils to reach Rotterdam semis

ROTTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) Defending champion Tomas Berdych escaped unscathed from a heavy fall and romped to a 6-1, 6-4 victory over Gael Monfils in the World Tennis Tournament quarterfinals on Friday.

The third-seeded Berdych needed just 23 minutes to seal the first set, and broke for 2-1 in the second soon after calling the trainer to have his left wrist checked following his tumble.

The Czech hit a flurry of baseline winners and served extremely well, winning 88 percent of the points on his first serve.

Berdych has been in impressive form since the start of the year under the helm of new coach Dani Vallverdu, reaching the final in Doha before making the Australian Open semifinals.

Berdych will next play either top-seeded Andy Murray or Gilles Simon.