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ROGERS MASTERS

August 6, 2007

Tomas Berdych

MONTREAL, QUEBEC

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. How did you feel out there?
TOMAS BERDYCH: Yeah, I was a little bit surprised because I played him last year on the Davis Cup match on September and it was absolutely different match and I have to say for his side that he make a big step forward. He was playing really well today.

Q. You hadn't been on hard court in a little while. Did that factor in at all?
TOMAS BERDYCH: No, I don't think so. I arrived quite a lot before the tournament. I've been practicing here since Wednesday.
Yeah, I was feeling well. All the practice was fine. Nothing happened or something like this. I just came to the court. Yeah, I have to say, again, he was playing so good today.

Q. You were mentioned yesterday by both Rafa and by Roger as someone who could really challenge them at the top of the rankings. This obviously is not the best day for you today. How does that make you feel, that both of them recognize you as a threat?
TOMAS BERDYCH: Yeah, I mean, it's nice to heard these things from these top guys. That's really nice.
But I think also they know the way is very tough. You have to win many matches, many tough matches. As you can see, the guy who is coming from qualifying, I don't know his ranking, he's around 70, maybe in the top hundred, close to the top hundred, playing well. You have to just trying to fight for every single match and then can go.

Q. How daunting do you think it is? Those two have played so well. How daunting is it to think about getting up into that level of tennis week in, week out?
TOMAS BERDYCH: Oh, I think you have to just try. That's my situation, like you have to looking not too big steps. When you just be like 50, then you gonna looking that Federer is like way ahead, I mean no chance. You just have to try to keep going, going. Then if you are winning more matches, then the confidence coming and everything's going together.
So I think you have to go like step by step.

Q. You've risen now as high as 10. Does it make you appreciate how hard it is to get up to No. 2 or 1?
TOMAS BERDYCH: Yeah, of course. I mean, it was a hard work to get to the 10th place. Now every single spot on the ranking is gonna be maybe the same hard as it was before. That's still long way to go. I will try for few steps higher and we will see.

Q. Did the delay, the weather, bother you?
TOMAS BERDYCH: No. It wasn't that long. I mean, it was just like two hours. We start 12:45 or something. So two and some hours. It wasn't that long. It was all right.

Q. There are stories coming out, like the Nikolay Davydenko story.
TOMAS BERDYCH: I heard something.
THE MODERATOR: You're referring to a match involving two players, not one.

Q. I just want to know if you knew about this story.
TOMAS BERDYCH: Yeah, I heard it.

Q. And so we learned that the ATP has hired a former Mafia boss to talk to the players.
THE MODERATOR: Just to clarify, the former Mafia boss, Michael Franzese, spoke to the players earlier this year in Miami. There's been constant communication with the players about that.

Q. I just want to know how you feel about the situation.
TOMAS BERDYCH: So I'm not very happy with the situation. I mean, if there is anything what they can prove or something, I think they should do it because I don't know if you want to like compare these things. Let's say this with the doping, I think this is much worse.
I think that's really not good also for us, like for tennis, for all the guys. We are like one family. We have one, maybe two guys who are with us, and maybe it's not fair. But who knows.

Q. Did you go to the talk that the Mafia boss gave in Miami?
TOMAS BERDYCH: Yeah, we were just sitting like you and he was talking to us, so I heard.

Q. What kind of stuff did he tell you?
TOMAS BERDYCH: Yeah, he was talking about all his life, what it happens to him, all these things with the bad things, with the peoples from Mafia. When they catch you, it's like no chance to get out, all these things, so...

Q. "Catch you," like if you get into debt to them?
TOMAS BERDYCH: No, imagine like if you have a situation that they gonna come to you and they give you the offer with money and tell you, If you lose this match, you gonna get whatever. You say, Okay, right, this is shit tournament, whatever, it's already the bad thing. It happens once, and they gonna come again another tournament and you're going to say, No, I don't want to do it, I'm going to play. Then the problem starts. So that's what I mean.

Q. Did you find it useful? Was it a good thing to have, that the ATP did?
TOMAS BERDYCH: I think it's both ways because it happens before and now it happen this situation. I mean, maybe for all other guys it was useful and maybe not enough for all of us, so...

Q. Do you think you're well-equipped to fight that?
TOMAS BERDYCH: That's only in your mind. I never think about this kind of way to do something.

Q. I don't mean that you could do it. It must be tough for a player that is in this situation to fight it. Are players well-equipped?
TOMAS BERDYCH: If it's like first time and somebody comes to you and offer you some money, you say, No, there is no chance, they can't do anything. I mean, if they come, if they are not coming with a gun or something, that's all right. But I think it's not gonna happen like this.
They gonna try, come to you, give you some money. If you going to be the one, the bad one, say yes, then it's the problem.

Q. What's next for you tennis-wise?
TOMAS BERDYCH: I'm playing doubles here so I'm gonna try in doubles and also trying practicing hard. Then depends how we gonna play doubles next tournament in Cincinnati.

Q. Then US Open?
TOMAS BERDYCH: Yeah, then one week off, then to US Open.

Q. Had you ever been approached?
THE MODERATOR: That question is not relative to this player or any player involved in the ATP.

Q. It's something that affects every player.
THE MODERATOR: I'm not going to let you ask the question. Any other questions?

Q. Did you expect him to come out so hard on you today?
TOMAS BERDYCH: No. I said it before that I played him once. It was last year in a Davis Cup match in Holland. I beat him three sets. It was quite easy match for me. I just came to the court today. Of course, I mean, he had a great result before and everything.
But I have to say that I didn't expect that he's going to play so well. He was serving well, everything. He was pushing me so hard. When I have a little chance on his serve, then he came with an ace or good serve. So it was really tough.

Q. What made the difference, according to you?
TOMAS BERDYCH: Difference? Like, yeah, he's playing so aggressive. The match before it was much more mistakes. Today, yeah, he made so many winners, so many good shots. Especially he was serving all the match so well. I was hoping for last chance like till the last game. He just take it and playing well.

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