Cilic is having to work like a dog just to win a point. He slips to 15-40 down, but fights back to win the game with some booming serves and a drilled crosscourt backhand.

Piers Newbery
BBC Sport at the O2 Arena in London

"This match looked like being the hardest sell of the week and not surprisingly, the upper bowl is probably only half full. Spaces in the lower bowl are far fewer, however, and it's a mark of the success of this event that a relatively low-key contest like this can attract well over 10,000 spectators paying top whack on a weekday afternoon."

Image source, Getty Images

The rallies are getting longer. The quality higher. But still Berdych is looking the likelier to run away with the spoils. He holds to love when Cilic goes long. Too long.

His coach Goran Ivanesevic looks a bit anxious in the crowd. Goran reached the semi-finals of this tournament three times.

Cilic so far looks a shadow of the player who stunned everyone to win his maiden Grand Slam title at Flushing Meadows. For every big serve and crunching groundstroke there's an elementary mistake. Luckily the pros outweigh the cons in this game and the Croat stays in touch.

Dominic Inglot
British doubles player on BBC Radio 5 live sports extra

"Marin Cilic said in his interview after this last match that he was shanking a lot of shots, and there's already been a few out there today. It's nice to see that even some of these big names still make rookie mistakes."

Both players are gaining plenty from their second serves and Cilic can't contend with a couple of big kickers from Berdych. The Czech puts the game to bed with an easy smash.

Good signs from the 6ft 6ins Cilic. There's much more power and purpose about his serve and ground-strokes here as he comfortably holds to love.

Berdych, 29, reached the semi-finals of the ATP Tour finals in 2011. Cilic is making his debut at the tournament. And it's turning out to be a pretty miserable debut so far as Berdych holds to 30 with an unreturnable serve.

Image source, Getty Images

You either laugh or cry after an opening defeat like Tomas Berdych's thrashing by Stan Wawrinka. BBC 5 live sports extra commentator David Law says Berdych "likes a good laugh" and that after his first round defeat he simply tweeted a picture of a monkey with its eyes covered., external

See no evil...

It's the worst possible start for Marin Cilic as he slips to 0-40 down in the blink of an eye. But the Croatian responds well, digging in and fighting back to deuce with a kick second serve. With the unforced error count well into double figures, Berdych injects some pace from the back of the court and breaks serve when Cilic dumps a forehand into the net.

Tim Henman
former British number one on BBC Two

"There are a lot of similarities between them and I don't think either of them defend that well. It's about who can get on the front foot and who can restore some pride after dismal first round performances.

"If I'm going to pick a winner, I'm going to go for Cilic."

Back to the here and now then. The warm-ups are complete and Marin Cilic is serving to Tomas Berdych. Let's play tennis.

Murray's latest BBC Sport column has just gone live on the website. In it, he weighs up the challenge of facing Federer and even name-drops Liam from One Direction. Have a gander.

Image source, Getty Images

If these players were looking for inspiration from anywhere, they should look no further than Andy Murray. The British number one recovered from a 6-4 6-4 defeat at the hands of Kei Nishikori to beat Milos Raonic 6-3 7-5 on Tuesday and set up a Group B showdown with Roger Federer on Thursday night.

Piers Newbery
BBC Sport at the O2 Arena in London

Image source, Getty Images

"This afternoon's match might not be the most anticipated of the week but it made little difference to the huge queues snaking through the gates at the O2, and after six straight-sets wins there is no reason why this must-win clash shouldn't be the match of the tournament so far.

"Let's face it, Berdych and Cilic should be fairly fresh after spending a combined one hour and 54 minutes failing to trouble Wawrinka and Djokovic on Monday. And it could be worse, poor old Gaston Gaudio got a 6-0 6-0 thumping by Federer in Shanghai nine years ago."

Tomas Berdych is ranked higher than Marin Cilic and has the edge in their head-to-head record. Cilic, however, has won more career titles, including this year's US Open.

It's the tennis equivalent of a relegation six-pointer. A basement battle between the two whipping boys of the ATP World Tour finals so far. *Other football-related cliches are available.

In their first Group A matches, Marin Cilic and Tomas Berdych won precisely four games between them. The Croat and the the Czech are currently charging their glasses in the last chance saloon and you can follow their every sip and swig right here with us. *Other drinking-related cliches are available.