During the Big Four era in the ATP, Tomas Berdych can make a strong case for being the best player not to win a major. The former Wimbledon finalist has consistently charged deep into the draws of the biggest events, reaching at least the semifinals at each of the four majors. Berdych has entrenched himself in the top 10 year after year by dominating most of the competition below him and pouncing on many of the opportunities that have opened for him. Thus, when Federico Delbonis bounced Andy Murray from Berdych’s quarter at Indian Wells, the route opened for the 30-year-old Czech to reach the semifinals here without facing any of his usual nemeses.

This also increased the pressure on Berdych as the favorite in his section, though, while his fast-rising opponent had little to lose on Monday. Borna Coric is the youngest player in the ATP top 50. Still just 19 years old, he already has defeated both Murray and Rafael Nadal, and he reached his first final in January. This tournament marked another step forward for Coric, who had not reached the third round at a Masters 1000 event before. The Croatian teenager had cruised past his first two opponents, while Berdych had weathered a stiff early test from former US Open champion Juan Martin del Potro before finding his range from the baseline to devastating effect.

The winds swirling through the stadium at Indian Wells troubled both men from the outset, since both have relatively high ball tosses. Nine breaks would litter the first 13 games of the match, and during one span early in the first set, the server would win just two points in three games. In a battle between two men more than a decade apart in age, Berdych’s superior experience may have given him the upper hand in this situation. He tried to impose himself from the outset, relying on his superior weight and depth of shot to thrust the teenager onto the back foot. The squeaking of Coric’s shoes testified not only to his crisp footwork but to the counterpunching role well behind the baseline in which he found himself.

A barometer of Berdych’s confidence and overall form has been the effectiveness of his backhand. With a few exceptions, he struck this shot as crisply as his more famous forehand throughout this match. As the Czech cracked winners from every angle throughout the first set, Coric exploded in bursts of youthful frustration. The opening frame lasted just 24 minutes and ended in fitting fashion:   Berdych scarring the back of the baseline with a thunderous forehand as Coric stared at it, his head and shoulders slumped in visible dejection.

It was not until the teenager trailed 2-4 in the second set that he showed signs of becoming a real factor in the contest. Still not having held serve, or even a game point on his serve, until that stage, Coric battled through a long game to register his first hold. At the time, it looked like too little, too late. With Berdych holding his first match point at 5-4, 40-15, though, Coric won the most entertaining rally of the match. He showed off his all-court skills by modulating from groundstrokes to smashes to groundstrokes to volleys, maneuvering from the baseline to the net and back.

This point seemed to galvanize Coric, who quickly broke Berdych's serve and rode a wave of momentum into the tiebreak. At that juncture, however, Berdych’s steadiness and maturity prevailed. With the pair on serve at 3-4 in the tiebreak, Coric committed three straight backhand unforced errors to concede the match. While he had shown flashes of promise and some impressive resilience in the later stages after a dismal start, the rawness of his game let him down in the end.

For his part, despite showing some signs of vulnerability, Berdych played an imposing brand of tennis that should have bolstered his confidence moving forward in the draw. His fourth-round match against Milos Raonic features the two men who have played the best tennis of the tournament in the early rounds, so it will be one of the encounters to watch on Wednesday.