Welcome to the Big Time, Tomas Berdych

Every year during the tennis Grand Slam season, an electric new talent usually comes under the radar of the tennis world. This year was no different. Joining the likes of the Argentine Juan Martin del Potro, who exploded onto the scene in last August’s US Open, is Tomas Berdych. The towering Czech recently upset both Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic to reach the Wimbledon final before losing to Rafael Nadal.

Background Information: Berdych was born on September 17^th, 1985 in the Czech Republic. In 2002, Tomas turned pro and began playing ATP tournaments. However, it took him two years before he won his first singles title in Palermo, Italy. Standing an impressive 6’ 5”, Tomas is a nightmare for opponents at the net and is almost impossible to lob. He is right handed and plays a two handed backhand. Possibly his most lethal tool is his forehand, which he whips around to the ball with the great power. Berdych does not utilize a lot of top spin or slices in his game, which his greatest weakness (his second serve) reflects.

Wimbledon 2010: This year’s Wimbledon was the coming out party for Tomas Berdych. Beginning the tournament as the 12^th seed, he easily made it to the third round, beating two un-impressive early round opponents. However he hit a speed bump soon after when he played Denis Istomin into a deciding fifth set. Thanks to his technically sound game, Berdych was able to pull out the win. Next, he took down German Daniel Brands in the fourth round to set up a historic matchup in the quarterfinals against the 6 time Wimbledon champion and arguably the best player in tennis history: Roger Federer. Obviously, the 1^st seeded Federer was the overwhelming favorite going into the match, but Berdych wasn’t fazed. He shocked the world, beating Federer in four sets.  Tomas’s height and physical condition proved to be a key factor. Using his lanky frame and leverage, he was able to generate serves up to 138 miles per hour consistently throughout the match. After beating Federer, most people counted out Berdych as they had before. Tomas proved the tennis world wrong again in the semifinals by beating the 3^rd seeded Novak Djokovic in dominant fashion. Unfortunately for Berdych, his Cinderella run came to an end Sunday as Rafael Nadal beat him in 3 sets.

Berdych’s Future: So what do we take from Berdych’s magnificent run at the All-England Club? In my opinion, this is the start of something big for him. His win over Roger Federer dropped Fed into the 3^rd spot in the ATP World Rankings. This is the first time since November 10^th, 2003 that Federer hasn’t been in the top two spots in the world. The impact on his win against Federer not only boosted his ranking, making him number 8 in the world, but it also makes one think: Is the reign of Roger Federer’s Grand Slam dominance over? This is the second straight Grand Slam where Federer has lost in the quarterfinals. Look for the 24 year old Rafael Nadal to take up Federer’s mantle of tennis dominance. Even if the fiery Spaniard begins to rule tennis as Federer did, expect that there may still be room at the top of the tennis world for Tomas Berdych. I see Berdych making deep runs in the upcoming tournaments this summer, including the US Open.


-Tucker Mitchell (guest writer)