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)

Wimbledon, So Far?

Andy Roddick was just ousted from the All England Club after losing to Yen-Hsun Lu of Taiwan, who was ranked 82nd heading into Wimbledon. By all accounts, Roddick was upset, but Lu is not so much of a no name than an underachiever. He has been a regular on the ATP since 2001, and the native of Taipei is currently the #1 Asian professional tennis player. Dont forget, Roddick lost in five sets, including a 5th set that lasted 16 games (9-7). That being said, it wasn't nearly in the stratosphere of Isner-Mahut and their 138 game 5th set.

Clearly, the breakout player of the 2010 Wimbledon Championships is the man who annhilated Isner two days following his 3 day epic. His name is Thiemo De Bakker (left). Standing 6 feet 4 inches tall and hailing from the Netherlands, De Bakker was quite an accomplished junior player, in the most objective point of view. He won the Boys' Singles title at Wimbledon in 2006, and in just 3 years, he has catapulted to 43rd in the most recent of ATP Rankings.

At age 21, De Bakker is the highest ranked Dutch player in the world. His tall, lanky frame reminds many of Argentine sensation and 2009 U.S. Open Champion, Juan Martin Del Potro. Both use their powerful serves to complement attacking styles of tennis. The key for De Bakker is his prowess at the net. At the ATP level, penetrating ground strokes are a given, but a vintage type of serve-and-volley tennis could perhaps prove troublesome for many opponents. Nowadays, matches are almost always won on the baseline, and De Bakker could force other players to beat him with overhead lobs and passing shots. Granted, this task could prove difficult against the tremendous size of De Bakker. One element of De Bakker has mastered is the ability to win against elite competition. Regardless of how John Isner felt, a 74 minute match is not a viable excuse. Furthermore, De Bakker has handled the likes of France's Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Juan Carlos Ferrero of Spanish and former #1 player in the world, as well as G.G. Lopez.

Not as acclaimed yet still promising is Germany's Daniel Brands. He is ranked 77th in the world at only the age of 23. To thus point, his career could be described as lackluster, at best. Nevertheless, he seemed to really embrace the atmosphere at Wimbledon, coming within a victory against Tomas Berdych to reach the quarterfinals. Most impressively, Brands defeated the world's 7th best player in Nikolay Davydenko. The Russian has been recovering from injury, however.

Brands' persistent play brought hopes to a nation lacking an elite tennis player outside of veteran and oft-injured Tommy Haas. Plus, at 6 feet 5 inches, Brands certainly has the weapons to compete regularly on tour. He fits the mold of a modern day tennis player, who is freakishly large with a powerful serve yet possesses the quickness to reach balls all over the court. In fact, Brands is quite similar to De Bakker of the Netherlands. Yes, Thiemo De Bakker is farther along the path of maturity in terms of tennis, but this year has proved that Wimbledon is again the world's fastest surface.

With this in mind, the serve-and-volley players have been able to shine. Master of the style Pete Sampras excelled for years at the All England Club. Fellow Wimbledon all-time champion Roger Federer showed that the grass can be tamed from the baseline, and his 6 titles are a solid reference, yet grass has always been the dwelling for the serve and volley. Remember Mark Philippoussis, the man who lost to Federer in 2003, he was 6 foot 5 inches. Goran Ivaniševic, at 6 foot 6 inches, certainly loved to come to net on his service games, and he was the last champion besides baseline extraordinaires Lleyton Hewitt, Federer or Nadal to win Wimbledon.

-DR