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WESTERN & SOUTHERN OPEN

August 20, 2011

Tomas Berdych

CINCINNATI, OHIO

N. DJOKOVIC/T. Berdych
7-5 (ret.)

THE MODERATOR: Questions.

Q. Talk about how the shoulder impacted obviously your play today. You were struggling with the right shoulder injury.
TOMAS BERDYCH: Yeah, it was that much that I have to retire the match, so I think it's enough to like...

Q. What affected your game the most? Serve? Any particular shot?
TOMAS BERDYCH: In the beginning, just start like if I have to stretch, especially for the backhand side and some air balls. But since the match was going on, then especially it starts more on the serve, which is for me the worst.

Q. Midway through the first set you were grabbing your back and wincing a little bit. Was there anything in the lower back?
TOMAS BERDYCH: No. Maybe you were watching somewhere else.

Q. You had a couple long rallies. Does that impact it a lot, or you didn't feel it in the volley, it was more serving?
TOMAS BERDYCH: No, as I said, in the beginning it was so-so and I was able to hit few balls. But then when the match was going more and more, then it was just worse and worse.
Then there was just no chance to serve and just staying there for nothing.

Q. Were you close to not playing at all today?
TOMAS BERDYCH: Well, actually I just went, you know, really to see how it's going to be in the match. For the warmup, of course you go there to hit a few balls, and then just, you know -- pretty much I didn't see anything in the morning if it's better or worse from yesterday.
But just want to see how it's going to be in the match. So far I start and it was quite okay. I mean, it was still I had to play something completely different than I want to, especially from the baseline, to play much more aggressive just really risky shot, because then if I get to play longer and longer would be even worse much sooner than it happened.

Q. Did you come into the tournament with the shoulder problem, or it just happened in the last match?
TOMAS BERDYCH: No, just happened the last doubles I was playing.

Q. If there was a third set against Roger, do you think you would have been able to play?
TOMAS BERDYCH: I don't think so, no.

Q. You were playing pretty well, up a break on Djokovic in the first set. In spite of this, does that make you feel like your game is where it should be?
TOMAS BERDYCH: Yeah, of course. I mean, I was feeling those, you know, problems that I had or I have right now was kind of still okay.
I think definitely he's the one that you can beat him. It's just of course it's going to be tough. But I felt pretty well in the beginning, so I was pretty much confident that if I would stay healthy that I would have a really good chance today.

Q. Did Novak ask you anything about your injury when you talked at the net?
TOMAS BERDYCH: No. He just asked me if it's the shoulder and I said yes. That's it.

Q. You're playing Hopman Cup with Petra Kvitova. Can you comment on that.
TOMAS BERDYCH: Of course it's still really far to go, but, yeah, that's true. We're going to play there with Petra. I think it's just a nice start of the year. I already play there twice.
You know, to be in the team with the Wimbledon champion, I think it's just great. I think we - or I hope - that we going to be really strong and that we can also show that as a Davis Cup, or our Davis Cup team has been in the final Fed Cup; they're playing the final this year.
So like the team competitions are strong in Czech, so I hope that we can do well in this as well.

Q. Does the injury affect your preparation towards the US Open? Will you take more days off before the Open before you start hitting again?
TOMAS BERDYCH: Well, definitely it will take and it will affect. Right now I'm just really hoping to get ready to be ready for my first match in US Open.

Q. Do you know exactly what's wrong with the shoulder? Is it a muscle? Ligaments?
TOMAS BERDYCH: Actually, I didn't make any like more checks or anything like that. I will do it now and I will see what's...
What I feel is some kind of sharp pain coming from the shoulder and the side of my arm right here. Just affect me right now pretty much with all the shots.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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