|
|||
|
|||
|
 |
|
|
AUSTRALIAN OPENJanuary 19, 2014Tomas BerdychMELBOURNE, VICTORIA T. BERDYCH/K. Anderson THE MODERATOR: Questions, please. Q. Feel any different? He said that was the best you played in all the 10 times you've beaten him. Do you feel the same way? TOMAS BERDYCH: Yeah, well, first, thank you that Kevin said that. It's always, you know, a compliment. And, yes, I can agree with that. I play really well. I play really solid. It doesn't look like, but the only thing I kind of would like to do better was my serve, which I was a bit struggling, especially in the wind from one side was really windy. You know, I could have done it better, but probably it wouldn't look better on the score, but just for my feeling. Other than that, everything works pretty well, everything was fine. I'm happy to go through. Q. Do you realize that saying you could do better with your serve sounds ridiculous when you won it 52 times in a row? You've not dropped serve all tournament. Where can you improve? TOMAS BERDYCH: I would only definitely say it was today, today's game. Nothing about the past matches. I was happy with my serve all the way. I mean, again, as I said, I'm not really complaining about it. It's just the way the fact I would like to deal better with the windy conditions. That's the only thing I said. It's really not that I would be really complaining about it or anything like that, because really you can have a day that you serve great, then you have one point there, kind of a lucky shot, whatever, break down, starts to make problems. Really, it's not this case. Yeah, I'm really happy with the way I played today. Q. Having such a good record against Kevin, does that give you an edge each time you play him? TOMAS BERDYCH: Well, every single match, of course, starts from 0‑0, that's right. But, you know, I have a bit similar experience from the past. When I play Nikolay Davydenko, my first nine matches I lost. I kind of know how the feel is, how it is to approaching those matches. Really then I think it was the 10th or 11th match which I, you know, made it for myself. I beat him in Wimbledon. Then all the things starts to go the other way. I starts to have more confidence in the matches when I play. I can understand it's the pretty same in this case, me and Kevin. But really, for me, I always have to be really focused, very ready for that every game, because it could come every time. You know, the winning streak could be end. But I'm trying to extend it as much as I can. Q. Czech Republic has beaten Spain in the Davis Cup final in 2012. Does that lift your confidence before you're going to have a clash with David Ferrer? TOMAS BERDYCH: Especially this match, no, because the day I lost to him, and he was playing incredibly well. I know the end of that season he was one of the top guys really to beat. He was leading his team really on the top. We were very close to, you know, that we made that match. So definitely I would be not looking at that one.  But I have a good memories from last season, which is not that far ago. We play twice, in Bercy and in London. I beat him in London. That I play really well. The week before in Paris Bercy, I was very close. I lost to him in three sets. So, you know, I'm going to have a plan and I hope it's going to be the right one. Q. Can you share with us elements of that plan? Very different player to Anderson. TOMAS BERDYCH: Honestly, no. I need to keep it. He will probably find it out very soon. But every single minute that I can keep it secret, it's going to be better. But, no, I mean, it's going to be always about my game. I'm definitely not going to come up with something super different. So don't expect that. But the details I will keep for myself. Q. You said on court it was the best you felt in the four years you made the quarterfinals here. Does that have anything with the courts being faster this year? TOMAS BERDYCH: Oh, yeah, the courts are faster. Really, as I said in the beginning, what's the case, if the courts were resurfaced maybe too early or if the heat conditions done something with the courts. Really, I don't know the exact reason. But, yeah, I mean, as I said on the court, we survived the conditions through the first week, which was really brutal. That could really change it, you know, when it's that heat, the ball flies way faster, the court is faster. Now, when the conditions are a bit cooler, thanks for my game that the surface is not way slower, which I was kind of expecting. But good for me. Yeah, it could be one of the reasons. Q. Heading into the second week, all the talk seems to be about Rafa and Novak. Outside of them, it's about Federer or Tsonga. Is it easy for you to fly under the radar and play more your game without the weight of expectation? TOMAS BERDYCH: Well, expectation is one thing that is what I have for myself. That's what my plan is, always when I come to the tournament, that's the one thing. The other thing, if there is some extra pressure, or if maybe our people starts to talk more, I think this is not the first case that it's like that when you look at the players that are there right now. It's all those battles, you know, with Novak, Rafa, Roger, all those players. So, you know, leave it for them. I needs to be focused really for myself. No one's going to give you anything for free really just by talking. You need to be ready for it. Q. A question about Davis Cup. You obviously had a fantastic record as a country the last couple years, and history as well in the past. The Fed Cup team, as well, won the Fed Cup seven times. Why is it, do you think, the Czech Republic are so successful in team competitions? TOMAS BERDYCH: Well, I would say that it's just the way of setting up the team. I think it's just the right time and right moment. You know, we are not a country of having like five to eight woman players, five to eight men players, and that we could really rotate it and play it for really many, many years. So, you know, we just get the right time, right timing of the players. If you look at it, me and Radek play it for six years maybe. Yes, six years. You know, it's been a really, really hard time, especially for us, to handle it, just two players. But the results are there. I would really not regret nothing at all. So, yeah, about womans, I think they have more opportunities. More girls are there. They can little bit change the team. And, yeah, I think it's just good time and good timing of the players who are right now in the team. Q. Coming into the next match with Ferrer, in the past you've had some tumultuous interactions with the Spanish crowd. Do you expect to have the crowd against you at all? TOMAS BERDYCH: Interesting question. Maybe you haven't been for long at the Tour and it's one of the matches you can see right now. But, no, I don't think so. It's really nothing at all. You know, we are all good friends, really have much respect to each other. There are no battles at all. So really this is something what it's not for now. Q. You have a great generation of players like Jan Kodes, Lendl, Tomas Smid. How much of the past Czech Republic's players have lifted you to become a great competitor on Davis Cup for Czech Republic? TOMAS BERDYCH: Well, it's probably only the way of comparing those names together. Really, I mean, yes, that's legends, players that make incredible well results. They won Davis Cup. All of them won many Grand Slams. Really, I'm only in one small aspect better than them. I have two Cups. They have only one. Other than that, with all those slams, I mean, really, I should stay in the corner. So, you know, other than that, it's just nothing. Only the great thing was to play the final when the whole team and Ivan was sitting there in Prague and we play in front of him. That was very special moment to win after so many years, and he's been there. That's the only thing. Q. You have a knack for getting your challenges right. It seemed like you were unhappy with some of the rulings made on your serve. What was happening there? TOMAS BERDYCH: Well, happy, unhappy, really don't make a big story from that. It's been just one thing. There was one thing which happened. There was a first serve. I took a challenge. The ball was right. Kevin just hit the ball with the frame, I think net, or not even just put it back. Gary wants to repeat the point. I said, But, Gary, there was no effect at all. It was a great serve. I just challenge it because the guy call it out. How can this affect Kevin in return? He was like, Yeah, yeah, you're right. That's why it was 30‑Love. Basically it was the same situation in the two games after. It was a first serve, I think like 215. Completely the same situation. He just hit it just down the let. Basically the same thing. And then Gary was like, Repeat the point. I said, But why? This is exactly the same situation that happened two games ago, and now it's different judging, and before was same. Yes, now is different. I said, All right, just go and play. Q. No problems? TOMAS BERDYCH: No problems. FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports |
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
About ASAP Sports •
FastScripts Archive •
Recent Interviews •
Captioning •
Upcoming Events •
Contact Us
FastScripts | Events Covered | Our Clients | Other Services | ASAP in the News | Site Map | Job Opportunities | Links |
|
ASAP Sports, Inc. | T: 1.212 385 0297
|