Tomas Berdych v Novak Djokovic in Wimbledon semis
Tomas Berdych did the unthinkable and knocked six-time champion Roger Federer out of Wimbledon in the quarter-finals in what is undoubtedly the biggest victory of his career to date. But the Czech still has work to do.
Next up for Berdych is Novak Djokovic. And while the third seed may not have featured on the front or back pages of too many newspapers in Britain after the men’s quarter-finals on Wednesday (they were reserved for the dethroning of the defending champion and a healthy dose of Andy Murray mania after his defeat of Jo-Wilfried Tsonga), Djokovic’s victory over Yen-Hsun Lu was as comprehensive as he could have asked for.
Lu may have been feeling the lingering effects of his five-set defeat of Andy Roddick in the fourth round, but Djokovic was at the top of the game as he dismissed the world No. 82 in straight sets.
"It's really refreshing, you know, to perform this way I'd say after a while,” Djokovic said post-match. “I was struggling with the level of my performance throughout the last five, six months. It was a lot of ups and downs. But right now I'm playing great. It definitely makes me happy.”
“Right now I think I'm raising my confidence level and performance level match after match. This is something that is very encouraging in this stage of the tournament,” Djokovic said.
Confidence is something his semi-final opponent will have no shortage of heading into this match either, as potential has finally dovetailed with self belief and maturity for Berdych, who has now reached the final four at two consecutive Grand Slams.
The experience of the French Open semis (where the 24-year-old blew a two-sets-to-one lead over Robin Soderling to ultimately lose the match) can only be a positive for Berdych heading into the match against Djokovic.
This is no longer unknown territory for Berdych, and as his victory over Federer indicates, the 12th seed is unlikely to wilt under the pressure against the world No. 3. So, what’s been behind Berdych’s recent conversion of talent into results?
“It's many things. First of all, it's that you win a couple of matches in the beginning of the year, and then you get a confidence. It keeps going and going,” Berdych said. “You get more and more experience. I get, you know, a little bit older to be, you know, more focused, you know, mentally stronger than before. That's what you need... They are all together like in one pack. It works pretty well.
“Next match [against Djokovic] I think it's going to be the same as those matches before. That's what I said before the match against Roger, that it's not gonna be that important how he's gonna play. The important [thing] is gonna be what's my game gonna be.”
Berdych’s game is a big serve and equally potent ground strokes. In his quarter-final match against Federer it was also a forehand hit with the power, precision and flair to equal, and better, what is widely regarded as the best forehand in men’s tennis. The 6ft 5in player’s main weakness, now that he seems to be brimming with self-belief, looks to be his movement around the court (though that’s improved too) and this is something Djokovic could look to exploit as he seeks a place in the Wimbledon final.
“I'm gonna have to be patient and wait for the chances,” Djokovic said as he prepares to play an opponent who hasn’t taken so much as a set off the Serb in their two previous matches. “Obviously, both of us, we gonna have a great motivation to proceed to the next round and finals... I would give everything to play finals in Wimbledon.”
And while there have been times in Djokovic’s career where that will to go that extra mile have been called into question – think the quarter-finals of the 2009 Australian Open where, as defending champion, Djokovic retired from the match (not for the first time deep in a Grand Slam) due to heat exhaustion and then had to fend off accusations he was a “quitter” – he does seem primed for a tilt at the title at the All England Club this year.
Prediction: Djokovic looks to be playing at the level and in the right frame of mind to reach the Wimbledon final this year.
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