Tomas Berdych, an ever-present at the top of the men’s game for much of the last five years, has enjoyed another stellar season to finish sixth in the world rankings.
His consistency and reliability should be lauded and admired, however his inability to seriously trouble the game’s elite is primarily why his greatest individual triumph – a victory over Ivan Ljubicic in the final of the 2005 Paris Masters – is now a distant memory.
Under the stewardship of Andy Murray’s former trusty lieutenant, Dani Vallverdu, Berdych made a blistering start to the 2015 campaign. He overcame lower ranked opponents with unerring ease but appeared one-dimensional and pedestrian at critical junctures against the very best in the game.
The 30 year-old won just three of seventeen encounters against top ten opponents and was defeated in all ten match-ups with the year-end top three.
This crisp ball-striking Czech has the weaponry and attacking prowess to overcome almost any opponent if all aspects of his game click in unison. His thunderous ground-strokes are among the best in the world, but he has limited options to alter the flow of a contest when misfiring.
Berdych does not possess the panache of Roger Federer, the pliability of Novak Djokovic or the celerity of Rafa Nadal, but he should pose a greater threat to the big guns than is presently the case. Major changes to the Czech’s game at this stage of his career would be foolhardy, but minor tweaks would unquestionably help his cause.
In the 2015 season, Berdych made just 56% of his first serves, a whopping 14% behind the world leader from the United States, John Isner. The Czech’s first delivery is highly effective when it finds its mark but he is trailing in the wake of his rivals in this vitally important category. Even a slight improvement in his service numbers would be hugely beneficial, especially in matches of significance.
Berdych struggles badly against Djokovic and Nadal but while he has been a potent threat to Murray and Federer throughout the years, he has been frequently dismissed by both with alarming ease in the last twelve months. The Scot and the Swiss have been able to dictate play from the baseline and the Czech has been unable to muster a satisfactory riposte.
If Berdych is going to enjoy a glorious fortnight like Marin Cilic did at the 2014 US Open, he will need to have greater faith in his undoubted ability. He has been known to get tight in the crunch, which often leads to him playing with greater caution and care, and his game tends to suffer as a consequence. The world number six is at his destructive best when playing first-strike tennis and it will likely enhance his prospects if he can maintain a menacing mindset from start to finish.
The sensible call is to suggest that Berdych is unlikely to fulfill his Grand Slam ambition but another Masters trophy is certainly not beyond the realms of possibility. For a player who has been a perennial quarter-finalist it would be good to see his conversion rate improve, but whether the big Czech truly believes a second prestigious title can be snaffled is another matter entirely.
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