Dubai : For a man who lists Dubai as one of his favourite tournaments outside the Grand Slams, Tomas Berdych hasn't really had the happiest time here. "It's a beautiful place. Something different. And it's nice," is how he describes the city.

He played at the Dubai Tennis Championships from 2005 to 2008, never making it past the second round and chose to skip the tournament for the past two years. But the Czech tennis star's career has since seen an amazing turnaround and after a semi-final appearance at Roland Garros and final at Wimbledon, the world No 7 is definitely one of the players to watch out for ahead of the US Open which starts on August 30.

Simple plan

Speaking exclusively to XPRESS, the man who stunned Roger Federer in the quarter-final at Wimbledon said of his preparation for the year's final Grand Slam: "I'm going to do the same as I did at the French Open and Wimbledon. I will go there and prepare the best I can. Thereafter I have to beat my first opponent and not look too far to see who I am meeting in the quarters and all that. It's just about what shape you are in going into each match."

Pretty simple explanation that, but it hasn't been all that simple for Berdych despite his immense talent. Having arrived at the scene eight years back - and he's just 24 now - it is only now that he's fulfilling his potential. So what has taken him so long to arrive?

"It was just a matter of time, I guess. I am still doing all the things I was doing before. But yes, I changed my coach two years back. Last year was to find out what to do and how to do it. This year things have turned around for me. Everything is working well. I am feeling much more confident on court. I am stronger physically and mentally. All those factors have contributed to the good results this year," he said.

Berdych has always been a feared opponent with the game to win on all surfaces and he understandably picks grass as his favourite.

"It's really tough to pick one, but my best result has come at Wimbledon, so it would have to be grass. That surface suits my game, especially since it's much slower now and you can play more from the baseline. But it's only for a couple of weeks a year. The good thing for me is that I can play well on all surfaces," he said.

While he turned heads with his semi-final run in Paris, it was the way he ended Federer's run of 23 straight Grand Slam semi-final appearances that had people talking. So, does he agree with Andy Murray's assessment that the Swiss maestro has lost a bit over the years?

"It's really tough to say. He is getting older and it's normal to lose a little bit with age, like any player. But I played really good tennis and I deserved to win that match. He has come back after injury and with the additions in his family and he has made the final at Toronto and won at Cincinnati. I am sure he will win more Grand Slams," he said.