In a match that may go a long way to determine who goes to the season ending championships in London next month, Czech Tomas Berdych will take on Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the quartefinal of the Shanghai Masters today.

Having reached the finals of the Madrid Masters in May, it seemed as if Berdych was headed to greater things this year. That bubble however burst early in the French Open itself, and the Czech has struggled ever since. He reached a new low at Wimbledon as he was eliminated as early as the first round at Wimbledon and struggled at the Olympics too. As we turned to the hard courts of the US Open series, Berdych gained some form reaching the semis at Flushing Meadows. He beat six time champion Roger Federer in the semis of the event playing some stunning tennis at times. Then on clay in Argentina, Berdych once again played some of the best tennis seen from him in recent times to steer his country into the final of the event. He has a win-loss record of 50-18 this year.

The former Aussie Open finalist, currently ranked at No.5 in the World has had a good year so far, with a title in Qatar under his belt. He comes into this tournament with a 31-12 win-loss record for 2012. Playing his first tournament on clay, Tsonga reached the quarterfinals at Monte Carlo but suffered early round exits from Munich and Madrid Open later on. At Rome, the French No.1 reached the quarterfinals only to be undone by World No.1 Novak Djokovic. He did well at the at the French Open and also at Wimbledon, but has struggled on the hard court events that followed.

His win-loss record 48-18 this year.

These two have only played twice before and they have a share of the spoils.

TennisEarth picks a win for the Berdych in this one.