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BARCLAYS ATP WORLD TOUR FINALS

November 24, 2010

Tomas Berdych

LONDON, ENGLAND

T. BERDYCH/A. Roddick
7-5, 6-3

THE MODERATOR: Questions, please.

Q. Obviously delighted with your first win in the championship. How does it feel?
TOMAS BERDYCH: Yeah, it feels great. I mean, you know, none of these matches are easy. Especially today against Andy, I played him this year three times, all three times he won.
So, you know, I mean, I'm happy after the first one to get back on the court and starts to play my tennis again, you know, feel good on court. That's what I need.
I'm still in kind of chance to have it in my hands in the last match.

Q. In the first set at 4-5, 15-40, what was going on in your head?
TOMAS BERDYCH: Well, I mean, it was just like, you know, last couple of weeks, I mean, I was many times in this position. But I never -- not never. But not often I was able to get back, you know, just to do couple of good serves, you know, get to the deuce, then win the game. That's the thing what's gonna give you really a lot of, you know, the positive confidence and stuff like that.
So, you know, I just went there, serve twice pretty good, turn the game, the last pickup volley was very tough one, and I made it. Yeah, and then the next game just made a quick break, and that was the key of the game.

Q. Your return is a lot more better in the second set. Is there any reason for that?
TOMAS BERDYCH: No, I was trying to do it same as in the first set. I mean, it's really tough against Andy. You can have a match that you almost not even touch his serve, still you could win like 7-6, 7-6.
Yeah, I mean, I was able to return better in the second set. The result was, you know, that I made the two breaks. That's what I needs to do, you know, return good, be aggressive, serving well. That's it.

Q. London is one of the tennis capitals of the world. I don't know if it's a coincidence, but many of the players you have done well with this year, but also in general, they are here. What to you prefer, covered court, open air, clay?
TOMAS BERDYCH: No, I think everything has its own secret or own like magical thing. Even if you play in Roland Garros, clay court, that's special thing. Then you came to Wimbledon, which is really special place to be, you know, playing grass. Nice, old, with a lot of traditions place. Then you came here, you know, which is like huge indoor arena with so many people, and the entertainment, it's more like you go to theater than just to watch on tennis, which is good. That's what we need.
You know, as you can see, I mean, the people's coming. It's really nice to be here and playing here. So I'm enjoying it.

Q. On the atmosphere here, this is your first taste of it, second match, but to find a full-house crowd on an afternoon, it's quite extraordinary, isn't it? What is it like for you to play out there in those kind of circumstances?
TOMAS BERDYCH: Yeah, I'm saying that the crowd, I don't know if in England, but in London definitely are one of the best for tennis because, I mean, as you can see, the referee has no chance. Well, he doesn't have to say anything during whole match, to be a little bit quiet or whatever. That's I think the best thing for all tennis players, that they just step for the baseline, let's say, for the first point in the game or any point, and they almost can like listen if something just drop on the floor, and it's really silent. I think that's the best thing for tennis.
If something happened, then you can heard it, like the whole full stadium like it. I think that's the best crowd.

Q. Soderling last night said that the court is becoming faster. He thought it was slower the first day, and the more you play, it seems faster to him. Do you agree or you don't?
TOMAS BERDYCH: No, I don't think so. Well, from my point of view, it just looks pretty much the same. Only it's getting just little bit, just a small space between the squares, you know, because it's the kind of wood. When it gets together, you put the color on it. So just getting small space which could maybe, I don't know, affect the bounce of the ball or something.
But, I mean, no, I didn't felt it. You can just see it on the court that it's a little bit different.

Q. Rafael Nadal will be your next opponent. A rematch of the Wimbledon final. A player you have quite of history with. What sort of match do you expect with him? Is it more of a motivation than ever to play the world No. 1?
TOMAS BERDYCH: No, I think for me that's the best schedule for this week, you know, to playing maybe possibly the last match of the season against world No. 1, Rafael Nadal, or if I can do well then to beat No. 1 player in the world and have a chance to play more in this tournament.
So I think that's just the best way I can have in this kind of system that we playing here. Yeah, I'm just looking forward to this match, you know. Playing Rafa, it's always great experience, even if you play on clay, grass, indoor, outdoor, whatever.
So, yeah, I mean, he played a really tough match the first one. He was able to come back, won the match. Now he's waiting for another tough, really tough opponent. So we'll see how it's going to be. He still have to play one more match. Could happen so many things.
So, yeah, we will see. I'm just looking forward to that one.

Q. It seemed to me there was a guy with a plastic mask sitting on your bench, is that right? Could that be?
TOMAS BERDYCH: I don't know. Maybe I'm not getting it.

Q. Did you have someone with plastic on his nose sitting on your bench.
TOMAS BERDYCH: No, I haven't seen that. I pretty much knew who was sitting there - or I hope I knew. I didn't see it, no. I don't know.

Q. I want to come back to Bercy. If I am not wrong, you scored only four points in the last set against Davydenko. I supposed it was a very low part of your season. What a difference today. How can you bounce back from that defeat today?
TOMAS BERDYCH: It's just the next match. It's just the next week. That's how it is. I mean, I believe if we going to play with Andy tomorrow again, then the match gonna be completely different than it was today.
That's how it was in Bercy. It's already past, it's gone. We are here. That's for me the important thing: to be here, to be concentrate for these days tennis. I mean, I lost so many matches this year. If I would be thinking what happened in that one, what happened in the previous one, you know, I would be going just only the matches I lost.
You know, it's really tough. If you are winning, yeah, you win the match, you have no time to enjoy that you won it because next day you have to play again. If you lose, then you finish in the tournament. Until the next match you gonna play, it's so much time. So everybody just see the loses, and obviously they want to ask about that.

Q. How would you describe the second half of your season overall? Today would you say this is one of the best matches you've played since Wimbledon?
TOMAS BERDYCH: I'm not gonna be splitting the season into the halves or quarters or months or weeks tournaments, whatever. The season is starting in January, finishing right now. For me, the season was good. It was my best season I ever played.
Yeah, I'm here. I just did a good job today. I won tough match. I'm looking for the next match. That's it, how it is.

Q. These special tournaments where you can lose one match and win the tournament, what would be your reaction, tomorrow, if Federer wins a set, he will be first in his group, if he makes five games he knows he will qualify. Does that change something, in your opinion, when you have to play in that sort of situation, whether you are the opponent or Federer himself? Would it change it for you? Does it make a difference?
TOMAS BERDYCH: No. I think that's just the work of you guys, like media. You're going to sit and be counting all the numbers, what's going to happen if he wons five games, what happens if he won one set or something like that.
If you would ask Roger, I believe that he doesn't even know that. So, I mean, you know, we are tennis players. We want to win every match. We not gonna go there and be I guess like Italian football players just waiting for 0-0 or score one game and we would be defending like all the time.
So, no, I mean, this is just completely different sport. That's not gonna happen.

End of FastScripts

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