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INTERNAZIONALI BNL D'ITALIA (MEN)

May 11, 2007

Tomas Berdych

ROME, ITALY

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Can you help us to understand this performance about Volandri? Because he beat Gasquet, Federer, Berdych, all players better than him in the ranking.
TOMAS BERDYCH: So I think when he get -- he is wild card here? No.

Q. Yes.
TOMAS BERDYCH: Yes. So he's a wild card, so obviously when he beat somebody it has to be every one is better than him in the rankings. That's the first thing. (Laughter.)

Q. This is a good reason, but do you play less better than your ranking or it was just he was better than you, or it was a bad day?
TOMAS BERDYCH: No, I think he's playing fantastic tennis this week. He's playing really good and there's no any small mistakes in his game.
You can see that he beat so many top guys and he's in the semifinal. And I think when he's going to keep this way and I think the final is easy for him.

Q. You took only five points on his serve. Did he improve the service, or you had problem to return?
TOMAS BERDYCH: I don't think it's like did he improve the serve well, but all the game is very good this week. Then it doesn't matter if he's serving and making like aces from the serve or if he just have high percentage of his first serve.
The first, yeah, he just make the serve and then he's playing fantastic from the baseline so, I mean, this is the reason.

Q. Were you surprised at the way he was returning your serve?
TOMAS BERDYCH: I mean, that's everything coming together. Then you can ask me were you surprised that he play well backhand or if he plays well forehand.
I mean, he's playing his best tennis what I ever seen him to play, so that's all the things together. You know, if you are -- and everything is work so you return well.
Then you can play volleys when you never played volleys; then you can serve well, so everything is working then.

Q. And what about you? Nothing was working or it was just him was playing so wonderfully? Because you never reached 30 on his serve. You only made 5 points only 5 times to 15. So how do you explain that? That is quite a surprise, or not?
TOMAS BERDYCH: Yeah, of course. He start to play really well. And then, I mean, I don't know how many breakpoints had Roger yesterday but, yeah, he lost quite easy for all of the matches when Roger lost in like three sets or something like this, but not so easy like yesterday.
But, yeah, he's playing fantastic. I don't know what to say. I was trying to make my best on the court, but he was for the opposite reason.

Q. How did you find the crowd?
TOMAS BERDYCH: Sorry.

Q. The crowd, the environment.
TOMAS BERDYCH: It was nice. It's normal. I mean, he's at home. He's Italian. It's at home. Why not? But it was nice.

Q. It was nice?
TOMAS BERDYCH: Yeah.

Q. How disappointed are you with your serve? You don't regret anything or you think, I should have done maybe or not?
TOMAS BERDYCH: Of course, if you lose the match then you still have some things you want to do better for next time.
But, yeah, I think it needs some time. We going to sit with my coach and we going to find the good things and also the bad things.
But, yeah, I think it's better to talk -- not to talk, but take the bad things and put it somewhere out and then just trying to find out some good things. So of course it's -- it wasn't like first round. It's quarterfinals so, yeah, my results are getting consistent before Roland Garros.
So, yeah, I think that's something we can find out what is good.

Q. Is Volandri, in your opinion, can win this tournament? Can beat a player like Nadal?
TOMAS BERDYCH: I think so, yes.

Q. Before this match, before you play with Volandri, did you ever thought that his level was maybe better than his ranking, or maybe you already thought that he was number 50 in the world? Do you think that he was playing better than his ranking was saying or not before this match? He is 53 in the rankings. Do you think he's better or not?
TOMAS BERDYCH: If he's going to play the way he is playing this week, for sure he has a chance to be Top 20, Top 15. Why not? But that's just about the consistence.
For me it was the same in the beginning. I made one tournament and I was playing fantastic, and then like three, four tournaments then you can see if the player have the right things to be top. It's just not about to have win one tournament.
Yeah, it's nice. It's fantastic, of course. But if you like want to be top and you want to stay there, it's not enough just to have like 200, 300 points and that's all.
You have to keep going every single week, so it's not so easy how it looks maybe.

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