The Berdych Report

[Kirijax]

Been a Berdych fan for a while and with a new coach and the "Big Four" starting to crumble, this year may be his best and last chance to finally win a Grand Slam of his own. He started 2015 off pretty well with a runner-up performance in Doha and losing there early the last couple of years. Granted, he still needs to toughen up mentally but if a few things go his way, he could be this year's Wawrinka. Any Berdych fans here? Let's go Birdman!

Age: 29
Country: Czech Republic
Career Titles: 10
Australian Open: Semifinals 2014
French Open: Semifinals 2010
Wimbledon: Finalist 2010
U.S. Open: Semifinals 2012
Masters 1000: Paris 2005
Davis Cup: 2012, 1013
Hopman Cup: 2012
World Tour Finals: Semifinals 2011
Olympics: Athens QF
Coach: Dani Vallverdu (Venezuela)
Wikipedia Page

 

[Kirijax]

Always fun to watch if you're a Berdych fan.

[video=youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZyHTCctiLWc[/video]

 

[Federberg]

he's amazingly talented. On his day he can dust anyone. It really is just a mental thing. The one thing I would say about him is that if the draw works in his favour he can definitely win a slam. The only problem is that he hasn't demonstrated any ability in the last few years to face down either Rafa or Nole. But as I said if somehow those guys are eliminated he has as good a chance as any to pinch one. I wouldn't be upset if that happened. Although being a Fed fan, I would rather my guy won!

 

[britbox]

Nah, don't see a slam in T-Bird.

 

[Kieran]

Berdy can barely win a title, so a slam is a huge stretch. He's like Daveed - a sticky in the top ten - but unlike Daveed, Berdy wins nothing, more or less.

I don't see him winning a major. The lad hasn't got the bottle. I like him, but I don't admire his game, or his ability under pressure...

 

[Murat Baslamisli]

I don't see Bird winning a slam in the same sense I did not see Cilic win one. Meaning, it might happen, but everything has to fall in place and he has to play out of his mind when it matters most.

 

[nehmeth]

As a longtime fan of Tomas, I do hope his coach is able to bring him to that next level of mental toughness. Personally, I never thought it possible with Wawrinka, but he did it. I never thought it possible with Cilic, but things came together favorably for him too. We'll see.

 

[Kirijax]

Berdych has decided to sit out the Davis Cup tie against Australia to concentrate on his individual career. He already has won two Davis Cups so I don't blame him one bit. His window to winning a Slam is closing and he's got to give it everything he has during the next two or three years.

News Link

 

[herios]

In the case of the surprise slam winners, Wawrinka and Cilic, the change of the coach played a big role. Norman toughened up Stan mentally and Goran made some technical changes to Cilic serve which contributed to his success.
Tomas needs some outside help, because he does not have it in him. If this new coach will find a way to tough him up, perhaps he has a chance. But he has to hurry up, fast and furious.

 

[Kirijax]

Thw 2015 Australian Open draw is out. Berdych is seeded 7th this year and he will face the following players if the seeds hold up.

1st round: #112 Alexandro Falla (H2H Berdych leads 2-0)
2nd round: #76 Victor Estrella Burgos (never met)
3rd round: #28 Leonardo Mayer (H2H Berdych leads 2-0)
4th round: #13 Ernest Gulbis (H2H Berdych leads 4-3)
Quarters: #3 Rafael Nadal (H2H Nadal leads 18-3)
Semis: #2 Roger Federer (H2H Federer leads 12-6)
Finals: #1 Novak Djokovic (H2H Djokovic leads 17-2)

Very very tough draw for Berdych. Not sure if I can think of a tougher draw for him. Hoping for some upsets and some inspired play from The Birdman!

 

[BalaryKar]

I don't see that as a tough draw. His equation has not changed at all, he still needs to get past the Big 3 and though Fed is *easier* for him, he has his demons against Nadal and Nole. And then he fails to others too often. For instance, he could have had a second look at the AO last year but folded against Wawrinka who had taken out his nemesis in Nole. And then his loss at Wimbledon is not excusable either. Though he was in splendid for till the QF's at the USO, he did not drop even a single set till then IIRC, he folded quite easily against Cilic.

 

[Kirijax]

Well, any time you have to go through No. 3, No. 2 and then No. 1 to win a title, it can't get any harder than that. Nadal may fall out early, there's a chance against Federer, but Gulbis has given him trouble in the past and Djokovic is Djokovic. There's always a chance though.

 

[herios]

Well, any time you have to go through No. 3, No. 2 and then No. 1 to win a title, it can't get any harder than that. Nadal may fall out early, there's a chance against Federer, but Gulbis has given him trouble in the past and Djokovic is Djokovic. There's always a chance though.

He will never win a slam through the back door. At least one big scalp at minimum is needed. For starters, if he was going to meet Nadal in the quarters here, he better win this time around. When will he have another chance to meet such an unprepared Nadal again?

 

[BalaryKar]

Well, any time you have to go through No. 3, No. 2 and then No. 1 to win a title, it can't get any harder than that. Nadal may fall out early, there's a chance against Federer, but Gulbis has given him trouble in the past and Djokovic is Djokovic. There's always a chance though.

He will never win a slam through the back door. At least one big scalp at minimum is needed. For starters, if he was going to meet Nadal in the quarters here, he better win this time around. When will he have another chance to meet such an unprepared Nadal again?

Does Nadal need preparations against Berdych and Federer?

 

[herios]

Well, any time you have to go through No. 3, No. 2 and then No. 1 to win a title, it can't get any harder than that. Nadal may fall out early, there's a chance against Federer, but Gulbis has given him trouble in the past and Djokovic is Djokovic. There's always a chance though.

He will never win a slam through the back door. At least one big scalp at minimum is needed. For starters, if he was going to meet Nadal in the quarters here, he better win this time around. When will he have another chance to meet such an unprepared Nadal again?

Does Nadal need preparations against Berdych and Federer?

Let's be serious. Berrer can defeat him and Roger not?
If Roger cannot defeat an unprepared Nadal, he is a total douche.

 

[Moose]

I really like Tomas' draw. I think Rafa is beatable right now, and then he'll get whoever survives Roger/Andy (Or perhaps Grigor). If he is serious about staying in contention when it looks like Kei and Milos are ready to pass him, this is the event where he has to do something.

 

[tented]

He will never win a slam through the back door. At least one big scalp at minimum is needed. For starters, if he was going to meet Nadal in the quarters here, he better win this time around. When will he have another chance to meet such an unprepared Nadal again?

Does Nadal need preparations against Berdych and Federer?

Let's be serious. Berrer can defeat him and Roger not?
If Roger cannot defeat an unprepared Nadal, he is a total douche.

If Rafa were to face Roger in the first round, then, yes, it would be a golden opportunity for Federer to beat Rafa at a slam for the first time since 2007. However, given that they would meet in a SF, that would mean Rafa will have had five rounds, and nearly two weeks to play himself into form. That's an entirely different scenario than meeting on the first day of the tournament.

 

[Kirijax]

Could we at least stop talking about Nadal and Federer in another player's thread?

 

[tented]

Could we at least stop talking about Nadal and Federer in another player's thread?

Yes, excellent point. My bad.

 

[Kirijax]

Australians happy about Berdych not playing the first round of the Aussie Open.

Berdych’s singles ambition good news for Australian Davis Cup hopes

Berdych is considered one of the best players not to have won a grand slam tournament.

A Wimbledon finalist in 2010, he was a semi-finalist in the other three majors and has been a fixture in the top 10 for several seasons.

However Berdych, 29, is older than the average age of those ranked in the top 100 and is keen to leave a lasting impression on the tour as a singles player.

Czech team manager Miroslav Cernosek said Berdych’s aim of breaking through at the grand slam level was the reason for his absence.

“Tomas will skip the first round but he will play the quarter-finals or the relegation tie,” Cernosek said. “He has swapped his coaching team to boost his individual career and his hopes are pretty high.”