Dubai: Tomas Berdych is hoping he can finally lay his hands on the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championships trophy that has so far proved to be beyond his reach when play commences in just over three weeks’ time.
The Czech has twice made it to the final, in 2013 when he defeated Roger Federer in the semi-finals before losing to Novak Djokovic, and in 2014 when Federer turned the tables on him to take the trophy. He has also made two further semi-finals, losing each time to Djokovic. Both times, he stretched his opponent to three sets, having to retire with an injury in 2011 and taking the opening set in their 2015 semi by 6-0.
His challengers this year will include world No. 1 and Wimbledon and Olympic champion Andy Murray, seven-time Dubai winner and Australian Open champion Roger Federer, three-time Grand Slam winner and defending Dubai champion Stan Wawrinka, flamboyant Frenchman Gael Monfils and 2016 finalist Marcos Baghdatis.
Although Berdych has 13 titles and a further 17 finals to his name, and up until this week has been ranked inside the top 10 for all but one week since July 2010 when he reached the Wimbledon final, Berdych has a surprisingly low profile. It’s all business on court and people gain little insight into his private life, but that’s the way he likes it.
“The way tennis is at the moment, everyone needs to be super focused if they want to be successful,” Berdych told Wimbledon.com. “They have to be in the match, they have to be almost perfect, and that makes it difficult to show too much emotion, or too much personality. When you get distracted, it’s game over, you can’t be competitive. You can’t show anything on the court.”
There is another side to Tomas Berdych though, and he belatedly discovered how best to show it. “I realised that social media would let me show the public who I am, what I like, how I feel when I’m not playing, what I do when I’m not playing. Then all of a sudden they realise that I’m different from the person I am on the court,” he explained.
There is still a line to be drawn though, and his life with Ester, his wife of 18 months, is behind that line.
“My wife and I try to keep it private. We don’t give the media any opportunities to write stories about our personal lives. We try to keep it private, very secret, and so far it has been all good,” he said. “What’s great about living in Monaco is that there are so many famous faces around that it’s normal for them, they’re used to it, and it’s nothing special. There’s more attention when I’m in the Czech Republic, of course. But it hasn’t been extreme — maybe there have been one or two cases of photographers following me.”
Colm McLoughlin, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of Dubai Duty Free, tournament owners and organisers, said: “Tomas Berdych has an enviable record here in Dubai and he has not failed to reach at least the quarter-finals in his last six visits. He always poses a very strong challenge against even the very best of opponents and it would surprise no one if he can this year take the extra step to the title.”
“Tennis fans are in for a treat with so many top names battling it out for one of the most sought-after titles on the ATP World Tour,” said tournament Director Salah Tahlak. “Although competition will be extremely tough, Tomas Berdych has demonstrated over and over again that he would be a worthy winner here and we wish him well.”
