The Berdych Report

[mrzz]

^You mean first round of the Davis Cup, I guess.

 

[Kirijax]

Berdych wins his 1st round at the Aussie Open pretty handily. Beat Falla 6-3, 7-6(1), 6-3 and moves on to play Jurgen Melzer in the second round. Berdych leads the H2H 3-2 with their last meeting being a straight sets victory for Berdych in the third round of the Australian Open.

 

[Kirijax]

Berdych's projected 4th round opponent Gublis just went out in 5 sets! This makes Berdych's path to the QF a lot easier.

 

[Kirijax]

Berdych is no longer wearing his baseball hat. He means business!

Vs. Falla

 

[tented]

Berdych is no longer wearing his baseball hat. He means business!

Vs. Falla

I think the baseball cap was something Nike pushed, but since he's no longer with them ...

 

[Kirijax]

Berdych was very impressive today against Troicki. I thought it would go at least four sets but Berdych played the big points perfectly ad didn't have too much trouble today. Fourth round: Tomas Berdych vs. Bernard Tomic. Berdych has played the #66 Tomic twice, beating him both times at Wimbledon. Both matches have been very close so the fourth round match should be a good one. Win that, and Berdych probably gets Nadal in the QFs.

 

[brokenshoelace]

Berdych is underratedly consistent as far as reaching the second week of majors.

 

[Kirijax]

Berdych is underratedly consistent as far as reaching the second week of majors.

He just has trouble reaching that next step. Hopefully he can break through one of these days but he's got a lot to prove still. Gotta learn how to beat the top guys.

 

[brokenshoelace]

He's got a new coach, which many times has a great effect on players initially. He's also got an opportunity at beating Nadal given Rafa's shaky state. If Berdych is ever going to do it (beating Nadal, not winning a major), now is the time.

 

[Kirijax]

He's got a new coach, which many times has a great effect on players initially. He's also got an opportunity at beating Nadal given Rafa's shaky state. If Berdych is ever going to do it (beating Nadal, not winning a major), now is the time.

I agree. He is turning 30 this year. Needs to do it pretty soon. Good three rounds so far this tournament. Hope he gets to play Nadal, Murray and then Djokovic. That would be fun.

 

[sid]

Berdych is a very good tennis player,but if the weather get's windy,he's not so good,he never beats the higher seeds when it's like that.I think this is why Berdych does not win Masters or Slams.

 

[Kirijax]

Well, Djokovic has trouble with the wind, scares the heck out of everybody when he hits an overhead and his racket keeps crossing over the net, but he still manages to win slams. Berdych needs to believe in himself and toughen up mentally and he's there. Hoping it will all come together for one or two Grand Slams just like it did for Mauresmo's boy.

 

[Kirijax]

Berdych beats Bernard Tomic 6-2, 7-6, 6-2 and advances to the Australian Open QFs for the fifth consecutive year! Looks like Nadal is next. H2H is 18-3 and Nadal has won the last 17. Berdych's last win against Nadal was at the Madrid Open in 200.....hold on let me check...........6. Yikes. Time to break this streak!

 

[Kirijax]

Way to go Berdych! New coach, engagement and a renewed focus to win that first Slam! First step was to beat one of the Big Three and you did it! Now let's win two more!

 

[Kirijax]

This forehand saved the tiebreak.

 

[Kirijax]

Maybe with this huge win Berdych will start to really believe in himself. With Murray up by two sets over Kyrios, it looks like Berdych will face Murray for the finals. It will be interesting with Vallverdu knowing all of Murray's game to come up with a plan for Berdych. This is going to be a very very interesting match.

 

[sid]

If the wind blows hard Murray has to be fav for this match,i said this in post 31.If the wind is down then i might just about favor Berdych.This one might have 5 sets written all over it if wind is down.If windy Berdych has a high toss on serve & i think this gets to him & the rest of his game.

 

[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?

It looks like I was right, Nadal needs preparation before meeting Berdych

 

[Kirijax]

Berdych lost yesterday, but it was a good tournament for him. He zipped through the rounds without dropping a set, including Nadal and even bageled him which hasn't happened to Nadal in a Grand Slam tournament since 2006. There was a lot of emotion in the semifinals and Berdych played well at times but it just wasn't enough.
This was only the 2nd tournament after teaming up with his new coaching staff so it will be interesting to see how Berdych progresses during the year. He has all of the shots, he just needs to work on the mental part of his game and on his movement. But if Cilic can win a Grand Slam tournament (lol), Berdych can certainly win one of these days. Hope he takes the good from this tournament, learns from the bad and keeps moving forward.

 

[auto-pilot]

This AO was like 2010 Wimbledon (Berdych beat Federer but lost to Nadal).
Or a bit like Soderling at 2009/2010 RG.
Or Tsonga at 2008 AO and 2011 Wimbledon.
Lots of these guys are able to beat a big gun at a slam, but 2 big guns within days of each other?
Not gonna happen (except for Del Potro 2009 USO and Wawrinka 2014 AO).