New Delhi: ''Tomas who''?... might have been a layman’s reaction before the 2010 French Open. He has now taken the tennis world by storm. He was in fact just a step away from glory when he took on world number one Rafael Nadal in the finals of Wimbledon.
It was just a case of the occasion getting the better of him which prevented a fairytale ending for Tomas Berdych. He can be forgiven for that, after all he was up against a living legend who is now being regarded by some as one of the all time greats. Even the greatest of them all Roger Federer has not managed to get the measure of Rafa as yet so that probably explains the situation that Berdych was confronted with.
He has been around for a while without quite being in the top league. A quarter final loss to Nadal at Wimbledon in 2007 and a series of round of sixteen appearances in grand slams was what he had to show for his efforts. That was before he got the monkey off his back by reaching the last four at Roland Garros this year.
Playing with supreme authority on the red dirt of Paris Berdych accounted for British hope Andy Murray and only a red hot Robin Soderling managed to get the better of him. In fact he led Soderling by two sets to one and the match could have gone either way.
The litmus test though came for him when he was up against the one and only Roger Federer in the quarter finals. The common perception was that Berdych at his best could probably stretch Fedex and make life a little awkward for him.
What followed had left everyone in a state of utter shock and disbelief. One can probably say that Berdych beat Federer at his own game. Booming serves and big forehands that the Swiss maestro had no answer to. The Czech also showed great temperament, playing the big points with a kind of belief that portrayed his arrival on the big stage.
Next in line for him was third seeded Novak Djokovic who was no match for him, the match was over in three straight sets. Back to back wins against Federer and Djokovic in a grand slam is no mean feat.
Aged 24 the man with a quiet demeanor and a killer smile has just got started and will be a real handful for his opponents in the near future.
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