Berdych looking to fly in Auckland
It’s been a long time coming, but at last New Zealand tennis fans will be able to witness the delights of Tomas Berdych at the ASB Classic.
The giant Czech has been given a wildcard to play at next year’s Auckland ATP tournament and he plans to use it to launch his comeback.
The 33-year-old, who played in the Wimbledon final in 2010, has usually chose to spend the second week of the year training in Melbourne, before the Australian Open.
But this time, because of a lengthy injury layoff, he’s decided he wants to get more matches under his belt and to come to New Zealand.
‘‘I have been injured the last half of the season and I kind of wanted to have fresh start in 2019 and do things differently,’’ Berdych said.
‘‘I haven’t been able to win Australian Open yet so maybe the way to do it is by playing in New Zealand.
‘‘I definitely need matches and I hope to get a lot of it in the first two weeks of the year. I have practiced now long enough to be able to push for four weeks in a row if needed.’’
Berdych often has the demeanour of a pretty serious guy and his personality doesn’t really shine out.
But Berdych showed there is another, lighter side to him and it came out when he’s asked what he knows about New Zealand. ‘‘What I can read in the press,’’ he said.
‘‘I can’t really find any bad articles out there so my opinion is very positive.’’
Outside of the big four, who are realistically never going to play at the Classic, Berdych is about as big a name as you’re going to get coming to Auckland.
He spent just one week outside the top 10 between July 2010 and January 2017, has won 13 titles, and got to the semifinals in seven grand slams. There will also be Gael Monfils, Denis Shapovalov, John Isner, Roberto and Fabio Fognini, plus David Ferrer, who’s on a farewell tour and always been an exception.
But Berdych is one of those players who’ve consistently been in the next echelon of players below Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer and Rafael Nadal. He is with players like Juan Martin del Potro, Marin Cilic and Stan Wawrinka. Where you place Andy Murray is a matter of opinion. Berdych is down at 71 in the world rankings, because of a back injury that sidelined him in June, and it meant that after a great start to the year, where he reached the quarterfinals at the Australian Open, the rest of 2018 was a write-off for him.
‘‘It was incredibly frustrating actually. Throughout my career I was lucky with not having many injuries so I am really not used to this.
‘‘I had the feeling I was building up something big but then my back said ‘no!’ So I had to take time off and work on my body.’’
While it’s been annoying for him to take six months off, Berdych can see the positives.
Djokovic took the second half of 2017 out of the sport last year with an elbow injury, and he came back refreshed and again the most dominant player in the game.
Berdych is hoping his layoff will have a similar effect.
‘‘[I feel] fresh, prepared, motivated and ready to go!
‘‘I hope this break will have positive impact on me like it had on some other players last few years.
‘‘I had time to spend with my wife, family and friends, it was refreshing.
‘‘Also, to kind of show me what the life will look like when I am retired. So now that I know, it can wait!’’
A decade or so ago, a player at the age of 33 would have been regarded as someone in decline and the thought of making a comeback at Berdych’s age would seem fanciful. But with six of the top seven players in the world rankings in their 30s, tennis is no longer a young man’s game. So why has it changed?
‘‘I think the main reason is more information is available to us and our teams on new diets, new ways of practicing,’’ Berdych explained.
‘‘Now, players can easily go until they’re 35 and still be 100 per cent physically and mentally ready to compete.’’