Tomas Berdych, Gilles Simon and the Flickering Lights

In his 6-7(5), 6-2, 7-5 semifinal victory over Gilles Simon at the 2013 Thailand Open, top seed Tomas Berdych seemingly had all sorts of elements turn against him.  Berdych had four set points in the first set on Simon’s serve, then lost them all and the subsequent tiebreak.  Simon also managed to win several points off of lucky shots that hit the net cord and dribbled over, at one point causing Berdych to playfully toss his racquet in mock disgust.

The final straw appeared to be a case of flickering lights.  The Thailand Open is staged indoors at the IMPACT Arena outside of Bangkok, and the rotating sponsorship advertisements on the side of the court rely on electricity, software and a number of other factors to run.  Rather than describe what happened, here’s a short video:

Berdych prevailed after nearly three hours, but his luck would run out the next day in the final, where he lost to Milos Raonic of Canada, 7-6 (4), 6-3.

Tomas Berdych during his semifinal victory at the Thailand Open against Gilles Simon. (photo by Yuan-Kwan Chan / Meniscus Magazine)