TORONTO – Chances are you have never heard of him.
But you will now.
Tomas Berdych is the talk of Toronto as the No. 13 seed in the Rogers Cup tournament pulled off the biggest upset to date by ousting defending champion and No. 2 seed, Rafael Nadal in three sets (6-1, 3-6, 6-2).
The match was flawed for Nadal almost from the get-go. The Czech player won the first game of the match without conceding any points and continued the early domination by breaking Nadal almost at will.
The frustrations only continued for the Spaniard when he couldn’t capitalize on a double-break chance and allowed Berdych to claim the first set.
The story of the match appeared to be Nadal’s resilience after winning the second set, but clearly it was the way he fell apart in the third. Although he showed the heart of a champion by tying the sets, he just couldn’t match his opponent’s ultimate tenacity.
“I don’t feel my best. I feel bad, especially with my forehand. I can’t touch the ball 10 times consecutive with confidence. I lost a little bit the feeling. So for that I lose today, no?”
Nadal never seemed right. In the deciding set, he was broken on his first serve and that served as an immediate indication that he was not the better man on Thursday.
The Spaniard said that he can’t always be expected to win and said that a tough draw along with taking time off after Wimbledon were factors.
“But I don’t have the best draw here,” he said. “Berdych is a bad draw, for sure, in the third round. It’s okay, no? I can’t play every week the final, no?”
At a post-game press conference, the man of the hour, Tomas Berdych said that he was unsure about why Nadal didn’t put up more of a fight.
“I don’t know if he doesn’t fight. But I was playing quite well,” he said. “I was attacking every single shot and I was making so much pressure on his side, so I don’t think he has some more chances to fight and make better result.”
Berdych said that he didn’t notice a major change in Nadal’s style of play.
“Maybe if he’s playing with next six players, he can win easily and he can play his tennis and he will be fine in the next round.”
Berdych stopped short of saying that it was the best match of his career, but did discuss how monumental it was.
“I think it was my best match on this tournament and one of my better matches in my season, this year.”
Berdych said that he definitely went into the match with a plan of attack.
“It was to try to going more for the volleys and make the rallies shorter, because Rafael wants to every time play, I don’t know, five, ten shorts in every rallies. That’s his tennis. So I want to make it shorter and something different, and it works.”
Clearly fans and insiders alike expected the finale to be another classic showdown between Roger Federer and Nadal, and Berdych said that he didn’t feel bad about ruining it.
“I don’t care what the people say or what they want,” he said. “I’m here to play tennis and to play my best tennis.”
Berdych went on to say that although people expected a battle between the top two seeds, his victory might be a good thing for the sport in general.
“… I hope I can make couple of more matches and maybe be with Roger in the final,” he said.
The 20-year old said that one of the main things is the fear that players have when playing Federer or Nadal. He said that this was not an affliction that he suffered from.
“I think when they go on the court, the opponents are, I don’t know, down one set because they are fear of them, they think that they are, I don’t know, Gods or whoever.”
According to Nadal, Berdych’s tactics would not have been as successful as they were if his game was working fully.
“If I am playing good, for sure my style going to be tough for him, no?,” he said. “Because if I am touching hard my ball with the forehand, with the good top spin, not shorter like this, sure, my style going to be tough for him, no?”
Berdych now goes onto to play Frenchman Richard Gasquet in the quarterfinals. Gasquet has been on a tear in the tournament and the Nadal-killer said that he is ready for him.
“We will see,” he said. “We need to set some tactics and to be ready for tomorrow.”
