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THE CHAMPIONSHIPS WIMBLEDON

July 12, 2017

Tomas Berdych

Wimbledon, London, England

T. BERDYCH/N. Djokovic

7-6, 2-0 (ret.)

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. After the ups and downs you went through this season, how much does it mean for you to be back in a Grand Slam semifinal?
TOMAS BERDYCH: It's great feeling. I mean, I wouldn't say that it's like some kind of satisfaction of being up and down and whatever. I mean, the season is how it is. Just only I know what I'm doing for it every day. This is it.

I mean, I'm not playing tennis for anyone else. I'm just playing it for myself. I'm happy with the way I handle it so far. I'm having a good run.

Q. It's the reward for all the work you've done?
TOMAS BERDYCH: Yeah, exactly. This is the reward. I mean, this is why I go to the court every day, why I go practice, why I do all the things that I have to do for my career and for my results.

This is the best thing.

Q. What is your level of belief at this stage of the tournament? Now you play Roger, who you have beaten here before. How do you feel about your chances to go even further and have your best ever? I guess winning would be the best result.
TOMAS BERDYCH: I mean, we are again with the winnings. But not that far yet.

I mean, I'm probably in the best possible situation I can be right now. I had a pretty good run so far. Yeah, today I think was a little bonus of all the matches before. That's just how it is.

Really, I cannot be in the better position before the Friday's match.

Q. 2010 you were in the final. You beat Roger and Djokovic. You lost against Nadal in the final. When you compare your form right now to 2010, do you feel in the best shape?
TOMAS BERDYCH: It's hard to comparing. I mean, it's not another year, but after so many years. I have so much more experience from that time and everything, you can't really comparing those things.

I mean, the only what can be funny is that in 2010 I beat Roger and then Novak. This year I beat Novak, so now I'm playing Roger, so it would be great. Rafa is not there any more.

Let's see. Going to be interesting.

Q. Can you talk about your relationship with your coach, what he's brought to your game.
TOMAS BERDYCH: It's actually very good. That's why I choose him, because I know him for very long time. I think it's also very important when the player and the coach, you know, know each other little bit more, because then I think it's easier to find the way how to work. I think on the chemistry in the team, that's working pretty well.

I mean, we are on the beginning of the journey. We start before the tournament. We haven't done much, but there are things that are working pretty good. As I said, it's the chemistry between two of us that we are able to work as a team and put the things together.

Q. Some people say even if you won two Davis Cups, made the one slam final, you won a lot of tournaments, many years in the top 10, you could have won more. I always say if you were Italian, they would have built a stadium with your name and a statue. Are they building stadiums and statues in Czech Republic, as far as you know?
TOMAS BERDYCH: I'm not aware of any stadium or any statue with my name in Czech Republic. All nations are very different. What else I can say?

Actually, it's the very same comparison when you see a coin. On the coin you always going to have two faces. This is the same thing.

Q. Do you think you could have done even more, or are you satisfied and consider yourself lucky for what you did?
TOMAS BERDYCH: If I would be satisfied, probably I won't be sitting here any more. So then you have the answer.

Q. How would you describe your sense of belief in yourself and how it's affected when you're facing Roger Federer across the net?
TOMAS BERDYCH: No matter if it's Roger or if it's Novak or a guy in the first round, it's always important. The most important is myself, my game, belief what I'm doing. That's it.

I just have to see it like that. I've done it in the past. Just need to go out there and play my best.

Q. What in your mind makes Roger Federer who he is in the history of this game?
TOMAS BERDYCH: Well, it's really exceptional tennis player that we have, that our sport actually have right now. There was nobody better in the past.

Yeah, I think he's the greatest of them all. It's a great challenge to have actually the opportunity to play him.

Q. On Monday Karolina Pliskova will be the first-ever Czech No. 1 on any tour. Your thoughts on that accomplishment?
TOMAS BERDYCH: It's great. It's been really, really a while that actually any Czech player has been No. 1 in the world. Really just a big congratulations to her. I think she start the journey I would say last year, making a final in US Open, then she starts to play really, really well. She's still very young. Lot of the things ahead of her.

I think this is a great achievement that she's done so far.

Q. Today Federer was playing his hundredth match in Wimbledon. Somebody who saw them all, almost, says he's probably playing better than ever. Do you think that is possible, him being almost 36? Do you see him also even better than you have seen him in the past or is just a fantasy?
TOMAS BERDYCH: Well, I hope I'm going to have a better answer on Friday.

Q. Not every day is the same.
TOMAS BERDYCH: Exactly. It was not his only one match. You said hundred matches. Somebody said that he's playing the best. So he's not judging by one match.

Exactly, that's going to be the case. Well, I experience him in Australia. I thought that the match we played there, I probably never seen him playing better tennis, that's true. Then I played him in Miami. I almost beat him, had a match point. That was a very close match.

So now for the third one, hopefully the lucky for me.

Q. Roger is the only big four guys making the semifinals here, which is rare. Knowing the other semifinalist is Cilic and Querrey, does that change the mood of this tournament at all for you in terms of opportunity?
TOMAS BERDYCH: No. I'm still not in that stage. I'm in the stage of playing Roger in the semifinal. That's all I'm focused. That's all what matters for me right now. Whatever is happening on the other side, I have absolutely no hands on that, so I cannot do anything about it. Whatever is there is there.

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